The Scent of Roses
by piresntsukino
Summary: Set in the feudal era. Princess Akane Tsunemori struggles with new expectations put on her shoulders as she fights against an evil whilst remaining true to her morals and sense of justice, as Shinya Kogami, an old friend, whisks her away from the life she had once been used to. Shinkane.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

With a little too much vigour, Akane drove her sword through the mannequin's chest. She had absolutely no reason to, but she did it anyway after each practice as a sort of tradition to signify that yes, the fight was over and she had emerged victorious. She knew that her secret practices (which only she and a few friends even knew about) drove her companion and handmaiden absolutely wild, yet this didn't stop Akane from enjoying it, regardless of Mika's pretend scoldings.

"Princess? Are you finished yet?" She shuddered at her official title. Even though she had gotten used to everybody calling her it over the years, it didn't necessarily mean she liked it. It made her feel… sort of strange, and a little bit lonely. Still, the person who had called out to her was a stickler for rules and regulations.

"Ginoza-san," she called over with a smile in her voice. It always appeared whenever Ginoza did- he had become an elder brother and friend over the years. "Just in time as usual. And how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Princess?"

"And how many times do I have to tell _you_ that calling you 'Akane' is the height of bad manners?" he replied quickly without so much as batting an eyelid. As usual, he'd brought a cool drink and a towel for her. She placed her weapon down and took the items off the older man, expressing her gratitude. For a samurai and one of the few assigned to protect her, he didn't seem like the nurturing type, nor did he look like it. She always thought he was much too gentle for a fighter, but she figured he must have a lot of talents if he was the leader of the group that made up her personal bodyguard. "Have you given what your father said much thought, Princess?"

"Ginoza-san, please stop calling me that," she corrected him, before answering his question. "Not really. I just got so angry at what he said that I just…"

"Came in here and started beating up a poor, innocent, defenceless mannequin." This earned him a jab in the ribs and a pout. "In all honesty, I don't understand why you want to fight. You have me, Kagari-san, Kunizuka-san, Karanomori-san, Masaoka-san and Hinakawa-san to do that for you. And that vanishing samurai you've taken a shining to." His eyes glinted as he glanced over to the young woman. Akane thought she'd hidden her affections for him rather well, but… "You don't get anything past me, you know," he reminded her.

However, she ignored him. "I don't like the idea of being completely defenceless. I refuse to be the damsel-in-distress- I want to be able to help myself too!"

"Well, if that's how you feel, it's not my place to tell you to change," he sighed. "Are you going to drink that? I made sure I chilled it before I came, so if you let it go lukewarm it'll be a huge waste!" Cheekily, Akane gulped it down. "You were meant to savour the taste…" he sighed and placed his hand over his eyes. "Whatever am I to do with you, huh?" However, he was smiling when he looked at her. "I doubt you'll ever get in danger. That's what we're here for."

"You guys really do have my back, don't you?" Akane handed the now empty glass back to Ginoza.

"We're your friends. Of course we do, Akane," her named slipped out, but it was too late. He looked furiously down at the floor, ashamed he wasn't following protocol. Akane could have laughed- did he think her father was watching, even now? "Um! Princess! Anyway… so… you should go and get cleaned up, or Shimotsuki-san will get angry at you again."

"It's alright, she doesn't mean it. She's just worried my father may find out!" she gave him one of her winning smiles, which had no effect on Ginoza, who stared passively at her.

With an almost inaudible sigh, he pried the towel off her and began to leave the room. Before he exited, he looked behind him at the flushed princess. "You will think about what your father said, won't you?" She nodded morosely in response. "And no more stabbing innocent mannequins when you do!" he joked as he left, leaving her alone. She laid down on the cool floor, and began to mentally brace herself for thinking about 'it', but before she had the chance to actually think in depth about 'it', she was interrupted by:

"Akane-sama!"

Ah. Mika. She sat up. "Hi, Mika…" she grinned sheepishly.

"Honestly, what are you doing? Did you have to practice today, of all days? You have quite the busY schedule tonight!"

"I do?"

"You do."

"Why, what's been planned for me?" If she was dealing with the people of the land (she vehemently hated calling them 'her people' or 'her subjects', since she was always of the opinion that each and every person had free will and belonged to nobody), then she would enjoy herself immensely (though she would never, ever admit that to Mika and especially not to her father). But if it was anything to do with 'that', then she was going to absolutely hate it.

"You're meeting several of your suitors, that's what, and you can't very well do that stinking of sweat!" Mika scowled. "And please keep in mind to not be as familiar with them as you are with me. You'd shame your father." She breathed heavily through her nose. "Fortunately for you, you have the best, kindest handmaiden in the land, who's already run you a bath. _And_ she's put your favourite scent in."

"She is very wonderful, and I'm grateful for her." Mika turned her head away and blushed slightly at the praise, before snapping back to her usual self.

"She's also picked out several dresses for you and is actually letting you pick the one you want to wear today, since she's feeling generous."

"Well, it certainly makes a change," Akane replied breezily.

"Hey!" Mika snapped, before 'gently' escorted Akane out and dragging her to the bathing chamber.

The scent of a thousand flowers drifted from the surface of the water, and she noted Mika had even thrown some petals in. Akane knew why she was putting the extra effort it- it was likely she had overheard Akane and Yayoi's conversation earlier, which was Akane crying about a conversation with her father, and how unfair she'd found it. She cringed at the memory- she must have sounded like a real spoilt brat! She should apologise to Yayoi, who hadn't seemed to mind at the time. She had rubbed her head rather affectionately and told her that 'even princesses have the right to cry'. Mika jogged off with her slightly sweaty clothes in a bundle in her arms as Akane slid in the bath, the warm water soothing the anxiety growing in her chest. She finally got around to thinking about 'it'- the thing Ginoza had told her to think about; the thing that had made her cry to Yayoi; the thing that was making Mika put extra effort in today.

Recently, Akane Tsunemori, the daughter and sole heir of Emperor Tsunemori, had turned eighteen. And once the initial celebrations had died down (all Akane wanted was a quiet birthday with all her closest friends and one wandering samurai), her father had sat her down and started talking about marriage and how it was expected of her now. And how she'd be expected to find a husband quickly out of a set of chosen suitors, to continue the Tsunemori line and also merge two kingdoms together and make a large powerful nation. Marriage, according to her father, she'd noted with disain, was nothing but a way of gaining power, and never love. She was just a pawn to be carted around, a thing she'd hated all her life. She had never met any of her suitors before, and had been told very little about them, other than they were the son of such a fancy lord. And her father expected her to swear lifelong commitment to a stranger and even go so far as 'continue the Tsunemori line' with them? She felt like retching at the thought.

And besides, the closest she had to a 'suitor' at this point wasn't the son of a wealthy lord from an exotic land, but a rather shoddily-dressed, wandering samurai who worked as a freelancer for her father, a man around Ginoza's age. A man named Shinya Kogami

She had first met Kogami when she was twelve, and he was fifteen. He'd been travelling around with an older man at the time who had been showing him the arts of fighting, and it was at that point her father had forced him to swear fealty to him and his kingdom. He'd accidentally walked in on Kagari and Akane sparring, albeit very badly. He'd apologised, but then Akane had piped up, "You're a fighter too, aren't you?" Kagari had bonked her on the head and reminded her to be polite and formal around strangers. Kogami had nodded, saying he travelled around with his 'old man'. From then on, he began to show Akane and Kagari some moves, and they'd greatly improved. He hadn't quite realised just who she was, until later that day when his master had thrown him in the bath and scrubbed the dirt rather roughly and made him wear his best clothes, and then impatiently pulled him along to a meal with the king. He'd been sat down rather heavily next to his new friend, Akane, and waved hello to her and called her Akane _-chan_. It was only when she had been informally introduced as Princess Akane Tsunemori that he realised. Even now, his master joked about it- for such a wary and observant warrior, when it came to outside the battlefield, he was as useless as the rest of them. Akane had winked at him and told him it was alright to be her friend, and he had to come and visit her and practice with her and tell her tales from his travels. Soon, the two built up a solid friendship—he would be gone for a long time, but he always returned and stayed as long as he could. Every time, he'd bring back a plethora of presents, and almost endless stories. And then they would train together, and he'd always win, or 'let her win'. Akane respected him deeply, since he was the only one who treated her as an equal, not calling her Princess or _sama_ , and he made her feel not-so-lonely. In recent years, he'd even bent his knee when he saw her and kissed her hand, telling her that was the custom in faraway lands, and she'd giggle, but accept with good grace.

He was the only person she had genuine affection before, and she wouldn't mind saying a too-cheery farewell to the Princess life and becoming a wandering samurai alongside him. But he would never allow her to come with her, and if she did, her father would probably punish Kogami, and she couldn't stand to see him hurt. She was snapped out of her reverie by Mika tipping water all over hear head. "Hello? Akane-sama?" she called out brattishly. "What shampoo do you want to use today?"

"I'd say seaweed, but-"

"I won't have you meeting your suitors smelling like algae! It'll reflect badly on me, y'know!" she reminded her, jabbing her in the back of the head.

"Okay, what about a flower one?" Akane shrugged, and Mika rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, what about, uh…" she spotted it out of the corner of her eye. "Rose?"

"The one that dog gave you?" Mika had a great scorn of Kogami, and Akane never understood why. But she nodded all the same. Begrudgingly, Mika poured it on her palms and rubbed it into Akane's scalp. "At this rate, we'll be late. Which is rather awkward, isn't it? It certainly wouldn't bode well."

"We'll say we were fashionably late- wouldn't want to seem too eager!" Akane joked.

"I'm glad you're smiling about it, but since when have _you_ been the cool and sophisticated ice queen?" The two continued their chatter, about all sorts of things Mika had seen while she was away from Akane that day (when she was having the chat with her father about her future). Soon, she was pulled out the bath and energetically towelled off. She'd selected a pink kimono with hand-sewn flowers up the side, and watched Mika's deft hands quickly get her ready, as well as applying make-up, that made her eyes stand out even more. Quietly, she brushed Akane's long hair, as if focusing, before piling it all on her head in a style befitting of her station, before sliding an ornament in her hair, which was from Kogami himself. It must have cost him a lot, she thought to herself, and he still got it for me. I'll thank him again when he next visits. She waited as Mika dressed herself in formal wear before hurrying her out the room.

"Alright, you," Mika said as they headed to where she was meant to meet her suitors. "Remember, you're a lady- that means manners, formality and calling everyone by the correct honorific. Sama or dono is usually a good one to use with these fancy types. Another thing, no abbreviations or street chatter- it's always 'I am' not 'I'm'. And you don't 'want' things, you 'would like' them,"

"But hey, no pressure," Akane smiled bitterly, earning a glower from Mika.

"Walk straight and don't bite your fingernails- or your lip!" Mika warned. "And it's not that bad, you get to sit down all evening, and I have to stand up. And if it's any consolation, Ginoza-san and Kagari-san will be there for you to roll your eyes at, as well as the rest of your personal bodyguards. And I've heard whispers that a _stray dog_ is coming for a visit in the next week or so."

"Shin- I mean Kogami-san is coming?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Mika rolled her eyes. "Anyways, here we are. Stand up straight now."

The doors were opened hastily for her and Mika's arrival, and Akane tamped down the nerves that threatened to choke her. She stood up straight, and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

She sat mutely, almost meekly, next to her father, that same fake smile plastered on her face. Her father spared her a sideways glance- he must still be angry about their argument earlier, but her mother just squeezed her hand comfortingly as Mika took her assigned position behind Akane's chair. She saw her bodyguards dotted around the room, with some of her father's guard, and spied Ginoza in a green yukata- she had to tell him how good he looked later.

Her mother leant in and admired Mika's handiwork, with her hair and make-up, before nodding at the girl. In her mother's eyes, all Mika was a hostage from a distant raid, who had been far too compliant with them. She'd been assigned as Akane's personal servant (or rather, slave), and she had been far too happy to do that until the day she died. Akane simply felt sorry for her. Not that she would ever admit that to Mika. Her mother brought her down to reality with a squeeze of her hand. "I know that you must be nervous, Akane, dear," she smiled thinly. "But feel lucky- at least you are meeting them before the wedding. The first time I saw your father in person was at the altar! And I am sure they are all wonderful people. Your father has made wonderful choices."

 _Him_ , again?! She didn't even get to pick herself? Still, she smiled as if to comfort her mother and show her just how mature she was being. She looked ahead as some servant she didn't know the name of announced the arrival of her first suitor. "Kozaburo Toma!" The first man entered with his entourage, which consisted of several men, and oddly enough a yellow-clad girl about four years younger than Akane. The entourage stopped about halfway through the chamber, but Toma kept walking towards the royals, the girl loyally following him, carrying a large bundle of items too large for her. He bowed deeply, and the girl lowered herself clumsily, earning a glare from Toma. Akane frowned at that, but smoothed her face out when he went to face them again.

"Princess," the way he said it made her skin crawl, but she contained her disgust for now. "To even enter your consideration would mean so very much to me." Akane barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Kagari. "As a token of my immense gratitude, I present to you these gifts: my latest work of art, and my best serving girl, Kirino Toko. Please accept them, if you will."

"I will, good sir," Akane stood up and bowed respectfully. "I thank you humbly." She supposed that Mika could use an assistant- Toko was young yet, and she couldn't bear the idea of her being stuck in a lowly position her entire life. Toma bowed as she seated herself and beckoned Toko forward, who nervously did so. "It's okay." She whispered quietly to the young girl. "Mika, could you-?" Akane took a sense of pride at the relief spilling across the girl's features, or at the sense of glee displayed on Mika's freckled face. The girl handed her the framed painting, which was off an array of colourful flowers. Loudly, so the rest of the hall could hear, she said: "Your artwork is beautiful, Toma-sama. I am indeed grateful for having looked at it." From that point on, her father took charge of questioning, and she only half-listened, taking effort to smile at the worried Toko. The man was a lover of nature and art, she found out, and was a scholarly man. She still didn't like him that much. He was at least ten years older than her, which was kind of weird. He left with the remainder of his entourage about half an hour later.

"Well, Akane?" her mother beamed at her.

"No," she whispered back, and her mother could only sigh. "He made me feel very uneasy."

"He makes everyone feel uneasy," Toko mumbled, not loud enough so Akane's mother heard, but Akane herself heard. She glanced at Toko who immediately apologised, but Akane simply stroked the younger girl's hand comfortingly.

"Mika, could you find some lodgings for our new arrival?" she smiled. "And hurry back here once she's settled in! Feel free to hang that painting up anywhere in the castle you wish."

"Yes, my lady," Mika nodded quickly and practically dragged Toko and the picture out. Akane returned her attention to the yelling servant, whose next arrival seemed to be 'Nicholas Wong'. She'd heard about the Wong family- bloodthirsty and corrupt. Just what was her father even thinking by picking him?! And when he entered, her heart plummeted even further. He was twice her age at most! She glanced coolly over at her father, who noted her distaste. This one was even worse than the last. He gave her a beautiful silver bow, as if mocking her- princesses were not meant to fight, so this was like a huge slap in the face to the royal family. He was bloodthirsty, and talked keenly about his army- Akane didn't care much for an army! Not at all! The only fighters she needed were her personal bodyguards and Kogami-san. How she needed him here right now.

Once he had left, all of the royals glanced at each other and mouthed the word, "No."

"He was twice my age! Had you taken leave of your senses?" Akane snapped almost silently at her father, in a formal tone she was loathe to using.

"A bad mistake on my part," her father responded flatly. "I do think the next one is a good choice though."

"I hope so," Akane mumbled bitterly as she felt Mika's presence at her side return.

"Not a good one?" Mika asked.

"God, don't even talk about it." Akane complained. Mika nodded before standing behind her like a pretty little statue.

The next to come in was announced to be 'Makishima Shogo.' He entered with an entourage, as Toma had done, but there was no terrified teenager accompanying him this time. He approached Akane as the other two had done, and she stood up hastily as he got closer and bowed in time with him. Unlike the other two, he got onto his knee and kissed her hand. "Forgive my forwardness, Akane-sama. It is just a custom in my land to kiss the hand of a beautiful lady."

When Kogami had first done that, he had said to her: _"Did that surprise you? Sorry. It's just what they did in the land I've just been to. You're supposed to kiss the hand of a lovely little lady like yourself. Emphasis here being little. And lovely."_

Akane allowed a small blush to creep on her cheeks and she thanked him for his compliment, and he quickly presented her with a stack of leather-bound books- a rarity and different from the scrolls she had grown used to. "I heard from across the land that my lady enjoyed reading and tales of faraway lands, so I travelled far and wide to get these for you."

It reminded her strongly of Kogami's presents. " _Hey, I got you some books this time. And some scrolls. They're all fiction, trust me. And as always, a retelling of my escapades in foreign lands."_

Again, she thanked him. Even so, as nice as he seemed, and not as creepy as the other two, she couldn't stop picturing Kogami's face whenever he spoke, and she blushed. He briefly mentioned a strong army, but wasn't willing to go on about as Wong was. Instead, he expressed a desire to want to know Akane better, if not as a husband then as a friend, all while wearing a soft smile.

Once he had left, Akane was escorted out too, her parents left to make the decision. Mika made Toko get her ready for an informal family meal, and Akane chatted about the land where Toko was from. She said it had an impressive garden filled with statutes which were so lifelike she often thought they would start walking around. Once she was in less formal clothes, she was chaperoned down to the dining room where her parents were, and she could tell they had already tell they had made her choice. She felt a slight sense of security that it definitely would not be Wong. They began talking about each one to her, and weighing them up like objects to Akane, and she felt like screaming, "I don't care! Just tell me already!"

After about an agonising hour of dancing around the topic, they finally told her who it was she would be forced to spend the rest of her life with. "We think Shogo-sama is a wonderful choice for you!" Her mother announced. For a brief moment, Akane pictured Kogami's face, ever-so-briefly, before it flickered onto Makishima's smiling face, eyes like molten gold and hair like swirling silver.

"I respect your decision, Mother, Father. If you may excuse me, today has tired me out, so I will go to bed."

Once Toko and Mika got her ready for bed and left, she curled up into a small ball and cried. She was only eighteen. She didn't want this. She used her pillow to muffle her sobs, and silenced herself when she could sense Mika approaching the door again. It had been an hour since she first hid under the sheets.

The door creaked open- Mika wasn't going to comfort her, was she?! The younger girl shook the Princess's shoulder a little too hard.

"Wake up, you. Your dog is here."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Could you send him up here?" she asked, hated how weak her voice sounded. Mika's face fell slightly, before setting in an iron mask.

"He's probably filthy! He isn't trampling his stink here!" she protested.

"If he bathes straight away…?" Akane tried, and Mika folded her arms. "Please, Mika," the tears threatened to fall, and she felt Mika relax slightly. "He can use my bathroom."

"Ugh, fine, but just this once. It's not like you'll be able to see him in the future, anyway," she replied, not realising the impact of her words on Akane.

"W-what? Why not?" she stuttered, hiding her face from Mika.

"Once you're a married woman, you can't just meet privately with a strange wandering man! It would start a scandal, and if your fiancé was a respectable man, he'd have him exiled at the very least," Mika didn't even seem to gauge Akane's worsening mood as she chattered away. "At the worst, he may even have him executed." Akane tried her best to ignore the almost-joy in Mika's voice. "I'll explain that to him, shall I?"

"Uh… if you so wish to," Akane switched to formal without even thinking about it.

"I'd say good riddance- he can stop stinking up the place!" she almost joked. "And I've heard good things about Makishima- he's a smart man, very charming as well. You're pretty lucky!"

"Mika, can you go and make Kogami have a bath now?" Akane whispered.

"What's the rush? You know how bad it looks that a man is entering your room at such a late time in the evening!" Mika snapped.

"Mika." Akane spoke her name, her mood deteriorating rapidly. "Just do it."

"Uh… yes, Akane-sama," Mika bowed quickly and hurried out, not used to Akane ever using that tone of voice with her before. It was usually Mika herself doing the bossing around. Akane sighed and let a few more tears fall before trying to compose herself before Kogami's arrival. Time seemed to drag on as she waited, and she was tempted to pick up one of Makshima's books, but she felt as if she did she would wind up ripping the stupid things up, or stabbing them. Because of them, her precious time with Kogami was now gone, and all they'd end up being was memories. All because of a stupid stranger! She felt like punching something, and her sorrow had been replaced by near overwhelming fury. But finally, Kogami entered, rather sheepishly, with a glaring Mika behind him as he shut the door in her face.

"Never could stand that Mika," he sighed as he walked closer, not bothering with greeting until he knelt down and kissed her hand. "Hello."

"Hello," she replied softly. She felt weak, probably because she was exhausted and upset. "How have you been?"

"Better than you, by the looks of things," he sighed softly, sitting on her bed. No matter how she tried to cover it up, she never could hide things from Kogami. When she didn't respond for a while, he reached his arm up and stroked her head in an attempt to comfort her. "What's the matter?"

"Didn't Mika tell you?" she simply responded, too tired to even cry at this point.

"Yes. Yes, she did." He sounded a bitter, and mumbled several swearwords under his breath, most of them directed at Mika. "She even seemed to enjoy it too. That's not all that important though. Well, regarding you it is. Regarding me, not so much."

"It is important," Akane replied. "How can I just not see you anymore?"

"Ahh, that's a bit far-fetched. We can still see each other, but you'd have to have guards or even your new husband around," he rolled his eyes. "It would kind of suck, but it's better than nothing, I suppose." He looked away briefly, before looking back at Akane's face and jumping in his own skin. "H-Hey! Why are you crying?!" Akane answered by launching herself at the traveller, wrapping her arms around him and sobbing loudly into his chest. Startled for only a moment, he responded by returning her hug, holding her close to his body, gently rocking back and forth, trying to soothe her. Her sobs eventually quietened, and her eyes dried up, but they stayed there for what seemed to be an indefinite amount of time. Finally, they parted, and Akane immediately felt cold again. "Feel better?" She nodded, rubbing her eyes ashamedly. Now she really did feel like a spoilt brat!

"Sorry. You must think I'm being really stupid about all this," she apologised, looking up at him.

"Not really," he smiled warmly as he could. "I doubt even I would be okay with being forced to live with a complete stranger. And other things."

"And other things," she sighed, shuddering. "I'd never let someone I barely know do that - I'd have to use my sword!" she tried her best to cheer up. "That would show him, huh?"

"You would be truly terrifying," Shinya smirked. "I think I'd have to surrender if you came at me with a sword. Oh, I completely forgot!" he stood up quickly, winked at her and left hastily. Akane knew he was coming back, but she didn't know how long he would be. She swung her legs out of bed to go and close the door, not liking the cold draft that swept over the room. When Shinya finally came back, she saw he was holding something in his hands. He held it out to her, and she took it. It was a book, an actual book, not a scroll. She opened it and found that it was completely empty. Not a single word on any of the pages, other than a quickly scrawled message in the front from Kogami:

 _To Akane, Happy belated Birthday! Love, Shinya_

She blushed at the 'Love, Shinya', and looked at Kogami levelly, expecting an explanation. "What? I figured since you loved reading stories so much, you could write down your own."

"But what would I write about? I haven't seen that much of the world to even write about something interesting!" she laughed, but it was true. "And there's not much chance of that happening now, is there? Maybe you should take this back and write your experiences in it!"

"Nope, it's for you. End of discussion," he told her. "I know- you can write down all the horrible things you want to say or do to your father or Makishima, and when you're done we'll rip the pages out and burn them, so nobody ever needs find out." He smirked. "Our little tradition, almost!"

"You're so strange," she told him, and they fell into silence for a while, both staring at the notebook. Then he spoke up.

"Hey, Akane?" she hummed in response. "You can keep a secret, right? You trust me?" She nodded, mutely. "Good. I know I can, I don't even know why I asked." He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in for a hug. "I'll obviously be telling you about my journey later, but first, there's something more important I have to tell you. In my journey, this time, I was welcomed into another country's palace. Have you heard of Emperor Sasayama?" Akane nodded mutely- where was he going with this? Sasayama was her father's enemy! Her heart began to race again. "Well, he welcomed me into his palace, and even when he found out that I'm your father's freelancer, he still treated me as an ally. And… the thing is, Akane, you have to admit your father's rule over here is corrupt."

It was. Her father's rule really was- her father was a tyrant, even she had to admit that. For a while now, she'd planned what she would do when she was in charge, or rather, her husband was in charge (she hated the fact she could do very little because of her gender, but she adamantly refused to ever let a fickle thing like that stop her), and she had an entire justice system set out that seemed fair to her AND Kogami. She'd even dared show it to her bodyguards, all of whom had agreed with her. Whenever a single person stepped one foot out of line, they would be executed or exiled, no question. Not only that, her father had even created a test all people had to take once they were eighteen to decide what they were to do with the rest of their lives- work here, or work there. There was very little, if any, leeway. Additionally, all the people wanting to get married had to send a letter to her father asking for permission. If her father said no, because one was a farmer and the other a tailor, for example, then they were not permitted to see each other again. End of relationship. It really was finite. Not only that, her father allowed criminals, if deemed not that dangerous but had that edge about them, were allowed to defend the country's borders, controlled only by the fear of an arrow to the back of the head. "It is. It is." She muttered into his ear.

"Emperor Sasayama thinks the same. He intends to overthrow your father soon-"

"And what will happen to my mother, and my bodyguards, and my friends?" she whispered back.

"Nothing. The guy's a lazy bastard if I do say so myself, so he doesn't want to put himself on the throne. He wants to put _you_ on the throne."

"Me? Why does he think I'll be any good at that? How does he know I'm not like my father?" Akane asked, worried.

"I still have the things you wrote down about what justice looks like in your eyes, so naturally I showed him," he sounded incredibly blasé. "But I've already sent a messenger to him explaining about your marriage. That's why I took longer than I should have done. We're going to see how he is. If we don't like him, he's got to go."

"I don't like him already, can he already go?" she tried to joke, like Kagari would have done. She could feel the smirk on his cheeks already.

"I wish," he sighed softly. "But, to tell you the truth, I've heard some… unsavoury things… about this Makishima guy."

"Like what?" she felt incredibly scared now. Kogami usually knew what he was on about, and she really did value his input and opinions whenever he was around. Mika had said she'd heard good things, but what did Mika know? She left this castle as much as Akane did! And on top of that, she was just trying to comfort her!

"I really don't want to scare yo-"

"Tell me," she snapped, startling even him. She really wasn't feeling like being babied, especially by Kogami.

"For starters, he enjoys executions, but there aren't as many over there as there are here," Kogami started slowly, still whispering in her ear. "He gets… rather excited about them, let's say." He was definitely implying something, and Akane had a vague idea of just what it was. "He's also a rather articulate man, but he's also manipulative; he's sent men on suicide missions or just whatever he wanted them to do with a few words alone. His power isn't just physical, it's mental as well. It's a common whisper on the street that he rallied several people into joining the riots in his country, but the law can't touch him, or anyone of high birth, for that matter." He clutched her even tighter. "If I had my way, I wouldn't have you marrying him until I was confident these rumours were false. It's not like I could stop you marrying him completely. I really am powerless." His face darkened slightly. "Akane. You won't tell anybody about this, will you?"

"N-No. Of course I wouldn't," she muttered. "I'd never betray you like that. And, in some horrible way, I find myself agreeing with you." He petted her head one final time, before standing up.

"Look at the time!" he grinned. "Looks like I've kept you awake. Go to sleep now. I'll tell you my tales tomorrow. Goodnight now, Akane."

"Goodnight, Shinya," she called as he left. She fell quickly and soundly asleep

Meanwhile, Shinya Kogami, despite his calm exterior, was flickering through as many emotions as he could think of as he walked quickly to his lodgings. Anger at Makishima and Akane's father; raw jealousy at Makishima; irritation when he thought about Sasayama's shit-eating grin; joy at seeing Akane again; immense sorrow at seeing her cry. However, he couldn't describe the feeling that made a blush rise to his cheeks whenever he smelt the omnipresent scent of roses he had come to associate with Akane.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

To Akane's surprise, there was an unexpected fifth member at the breakfast table that morning. As expected, there was her nervously giggling mother, and monotonous father, as well as Shinya Kogami, recounting his visit in a rather flat tone to her father, and blanking the man opposite him. The man seemed somewhat bored, almost like he was stifling a yawn, until he saw Akane, which made Shogo Makishima's face split into an overly joyous expression. "Good morning, Akane-sama," he called over. He indicated for her to sit next to him, but she graciously refused (or at least, attempted to turn him down with what little manners she could summon for this man) and sat next to Shinya.

"Akane, dear, why didn't you sit next to Makishima-sama?" her mother asked, curious.

Almost robotically, she answered her mother, "I can see him much better from here, wouldn't you agree, Mother?" Her mother's face took on a contented smile – she must think I'm completely enamoured by this guy, doesn't she? Akane thought to herself sullenly. In truth, the reason she sat down next to Kogami was to put as much distance between her and Shogo as possible, and being next to Kogami made her feel safer. Alongside the subtle knife she'd strapped to her thigh when Toko went to fetch her a specific hair pin. It was one Kogami gave her, crafted by hand to make the shape of a rose.

"I like your hair decoration, Akane-sama," he smiled gently. "Was it a gift?"

"Yes, Kogami-san presented it to me after his travels a few years ago. Unfortunately, the name of the land of its origin has escaped me. I apologise."

"It must be my country. I recognise the handiwork. He's a rather esteemed jeweller in our area," Shogo continued. "I will inform him that the Princess Akane is in possession of one of his works."

"I am sure he will appreciate that," Akane replied stiffly, formally. All she wanted was to leave with Kogami and listen to him talk about his experiences, sans the one involving Emperor Sasayama.

"And this is for you, Akane-sama," Shogo handed her yet another book. "I cannot believe it slipped my mind yesterday- how terrible of me." Akane opened it up and found that Shogo had scribbled a short message in the front: _To the radiant Akane-sama, Here is to a happy future together. Yours always, Shogo Makishima_. She expected to find it filled with words, but it was completely blank. "I have heard from several close friends of yours that you are an incredibly articulate and imaginative woman, and I thought that perhaps it would be beneficial for you to keep a record of your fantastical ideas."

"Th-Thank you very much, Shogo-sama," she mumbled her thanks. Next to her, Kogami had visibly tensed. "I will be sure to utilise it." She focused on eating her breakfast and avoiding Shogo's gaze, which seemed to be permanently on her. After a while sat in a hardly comfortable silence, Shogo piped up again.

"Say, Akane-sama, could you perhaps accompany me for a walk in the gardens afterwards?" he asked. It wasn't like Akane could turn him down, especially not in front of her parents!

"I would be honoured to," she accepted, trying to ignore the fuming Kogami next to her.

"Could I be so callow as to ask you for a walk around this fine establishment? Unfortunately, I have to be escorted everywhere, since I am unfamiliar with the surroundings." He smiled, almost comfortingly at her.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure."

The rest of breakfast was spent in awkward silence.

* * *

"God, I am going to snap that asshole's neck," Kogami growled as he punched the mannequin relentlessly, imagining that it was Shogo Makishima's smug, self-satisfied face.

"Your words, Ko. Use your words," Shion teased from the side. She had sat down after a short while of shooting arrows, too lazy to go and fetch them from the target. "I don't like the idea of our adorable Aka-chan growing up and getting married either. You don't think she'll forget us when she's married, do you?" Her words only made Kogami angrier and his punches got more vicious.

"Don't be ridiculous, Shion-kun," Masaoka called from the back. As a rather elderly samurai, he had become the team's battle tactician above anything else. "Does Akane-sama seem like the type to forget her friends?"

"Masaoka is right, Shion. Now, fetch your arrows. I can't call shooting 11 arrows a complete training session," Ginoza snapped, focusing on the task at hand. He had seemed especially energetic that morning, but not to the extent of Kogami.

"Yeah, you guys. Everything will be alright." Kagari chimed in cheerily. He was hardly happy about the recent events, but was much better at hiding his emotions behind a carefree smile then the others in his group. Namely, Hinakawa, who had lost all energy that day and seemed to sniff whenever Akane or Shogo's names were mentioned. Yayoi had remained silent on the matter, if only to tell Kogami that she had her suspicions of Makishima as well. "But it seems he really does want Akane-chan all to himself, huh?" At that, Kogami punched through the mannequin's head. "Fucking hell, Ko."

"Big brother, big brother, Akane-onee won't forget you! She'll still like you! She'll still want to be friends with you! And w-we an all protect Akane-onee together! It'll be okay!" Hinakawa was near tears trying to calm his brother figure's anger. "Akane-onee li-likes y-y-you more than Sh-Sho-Shogo-sama!" This did nothing but resort Kogami to kicking the mannequin into the floor, grinding its face into the floor with his foot.

* * *

Meanwhile, Akane was trapped with Shogo, showing him around the gardens and then the palace, her patience getting dangerously thin with each little smile or comment he made, either about the palace or Akane herself. She was irritated at the fact he had dragged her away from Kogami and his stories, which she treasured, since they shed light in her otherwise mundane and boring life. Shogo had attempted to tell her stories of his homeland, but she'd grown to despise them over the hours that passed- she preferred the way Kogami told them. When he spoke, it was like she was there, travelling alongside with him.

He kept trying to hold her hand, but when he hadn't asked her, she pretended it was a mistake on her part. But when he did explicitly ask her, she had no choice but to accept and begrudgingly take his hand in hers. As they stayed like that for a while, he interlocked their fingers and squeezed. She detested these affectionate gestures. They seemed wrong coming from someone she wasn't close to. She was glad they had finally concluded their tour, which meant she could go and see Kogami at last. However, Shogo wasn't quite done with her. "It appears to be time for lunch, my fair Akane-sama. Could you possible come and dine with me?"

"Yes, Shogo-sama," she acceded. "But first allow me to go and chance into dress befitting of the event," she bowed curtly, before hurrying off.

When she reached her room, Mika was nowhere to be seen, but Toko was diligently cleaning in her stead. "Ah, Akane-sama!" she bowed deeply upon the princess' arrival. "I'm sorry, Mika-senpai went into town to fetch new material for a dress she is making for you! Do you need my help dressing?"

"Y-Yes please," Akane nodded, and Toko adeptly picked an outfit for Akane to change into. "Before I go to lunch, Toko-chan, could you… Could you go and fetch Kogami-san for me?"

"Yes, Akane-sama!" Toko danced away, lithe on her toes. She didn't have to wait long until Toko re-entered, a flushed Kogami on the other end of her arm. "I'll leave you, my lady. Excuse me!" she bowed hastily several times before shutting the door and going to clean the bathing chamber instead (personally, Toko liked the bathroom more than the bedroom, since she could smell the different shampoos Akane owned). Kogami collapsed heavily in a chair and sighed.

"It's been one day, and I already want to kill him," they both started.

"I can't fault him, it's just the situation!" Akane snapped. "There's just something off about him anyway- it's like he's acting."

"He's trying to piss me off," Shinya growled.

"He made me hold his hand all morning," Akane continued. "He even interlocked fingers and his hands were so cold and now he's making me have lunch with him!"

"I'm getting pretty hungry myself, I may come and join you," he smiled. "He might poison your food," he tried to joke. "I'll see you down there later, okay? Just don't stab him before I get there. It would kind of ruin my fun, you know?"

"I won't," she promised, and hurried to the dining room. If she took too long, her fiancé would most likely get suspicious and come looking for her or tattle to her father, and she couldn't decide the lesser of two evils. He hadn't started without her, to his credit, but he looked vaguely irritated at how long she'd taken. "Sorry for the wait. I had to ensure I looked adequate enough for a meal with Shogo-sama."

"I have the feeling you would look perfect no matter what you wear, Akane-sama," he smiled warmly. "Also, I would appreciate it if you called me Shogo, and drop the honorific nonsense."

"If it so please you," she responded.

"In return, would I be permitted to call you Akane?"

"If you so wish," she repeated her previous answer with different words. However, her thoughts were far away- just seeing Kogami in her room again had stirred up memories of the previous night, and his talk of Emperor Sasayama placing her in power. What did that mean for her parents though? And if she was in a place of power, did that mean she could call off her and Shogo's wedding? She knew her parents and Shogo's father were discussing dates, and it was likely to be in the next few months or so, and she felt nauseous even thinking about it. She was grateful that Shogo wasn't holding her hand anymore. Just in time, Kogami waltzed in, staring at the duo with nothing but an obviously false smile. "Ah, hello, Kogami-san!" Akane greeted him as if they hadn't seen each other earlier. "How did your training go?"

"I swear Gino's a slave driver," he laughed as he sat down. "I guess he just wants a solid team, which isn't such a bad thing. We're having a hard time with Hinakawa- the guy prefers drawing and writing over fighting, and is far too nervous to even try sparring with anybody other than Kagari. The two are like brothers, I swear. How was your and Makishima-sama's morning?" Akane could sense the repulsion when he had to address the other man with respect.

"We covered a lot of ground in such a short amount of time. It was fun," Akane responded briefly. "What did you think, Shogo-sama?" she purposely used the honorific, going against his wishes in whatever way possible.

"I did indeed have plenty of fun with you, Akane," he refused to use the honorific, and Kogami's eyebrows shot up. "The castle is interesting and incredible- I am glad that I will be getting acquainted with it well in future." She could almost see the waves of fury and irritation washing from Kogami after that.

The date of marriage was announced a week after that first day of meeting Shogo. They were to be wed two months later, with all the royal dignitaries connected to the families to attend. Again, Akane found herself sobbing like a child into Kogami's chest, fearing the time they shared together was finite. Kogami had held her close again, and though he never showed it on his face, he felt like crying too. Shogo had been doing his damnedest to keep the pair apart, always wanting to do this with Akane, or that with Akane, as long as it was with Akane he didn't particularly care.

And their time really was finite. Kogami had to take his leave again, since the King had requested he survey another kingdom for him, and he had to finally part ways with Akane. The night before he was due to leave, they had stayed up all night, chatting, and finally, finally sharing the stories Akane had longed to hear. Kogami knew he would regret it in the morning, but he didn't care. He always had to tell Akane about his experiences away, without fail. The day of his departure, she had waved a sorrowful farewell to him, and feigned illness as an excuse to stay in bed and away from the man who had ruined things for her. She slept soundly all day, and Mika stood attentively outside her door to snap at anyone who dared make a racket anywhere near the vicinity of Akane. She stayed in bed all week, until her regular sleep pattern was disrupted.

She awoke to the sound of swords clashing and the cool sensation of a blade on her neck.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

As her senses were thrown into overdrive, she became fully aware of the knife at her neck, and the fact that her assailant was straddling her and pinning her down. Without wasting a single moment, she tried her best to keep her breathing calm and face expressionless as if she was still in slumber, before jerking her knee up as fast as she possibly could between her attacker's legs. If they were a man, then she could use their weakness to make a quick getaway. However, it seemed they had already guessed that would be the first thing she would do, and Akane's knee ended up hitting the flesh of their thigh. Her eyes snapped open to view their face, and surprise caught her completely off guard.

"Shogo-sama?" she stammered. "What are you-" He simply shushed her in a mocking tone of voice, a shadowy smile creeping across his face.

"I'm not doing anything, my dear Akane," the smile didn't move from his face. "I just have to make sure that you'll be a good for me and stay just where you are." At her expression, he shook his head. "Oh, don't look so worried, I'm not going to do anything to you. I just want you to stay here in this room until I come for you, understand?" She nodded mutely, not understanding precisely what was going on.

"What the hell's going on?!" she snapped, the pent-up rage over the past two weeks finally spilling over. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I knew that there was fire in you," he commented calmly, not moving his position nor the weapon. "You needn't panic. Soon, you and I are going to be the most powerful people in the kingdom- we won't have any need for people like your father, nor your mother, nor my father in the world we'll create together! Don't you want a fair world, too?" he was enjoying this too much. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, Akane?" Akane didn't reply and just balled her fists- even if she did punch him, she doubt it would have any effect that boded well for her.

"Drop the knife," she commanded, glaring at him.

"I suppose I could do that much for you," he smirked and placed it back into his belt. "I figured your father still had about thirty years of life still left in him. I couldn't wait that long for his majesty to kick the bucket, so I thought I could help in speeding up that process," he continued. "Yes, Akane, dear. At this point, your parents and my father are dead. I witnessed their deaths myself. Everything in this castle belongs to us now. Together, we can restore this land to its true glory. You would like that, wouldn't you, my dear?"

"Don't call me that, I think I might be sick," Akane spat with vehemence. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say or do anything that could hurt her.

"The thing is Akane, I needed somebody like you. Somebody with a good sense of justice," he grinned down at her. "I'd actually first heard about you two years ago, when a traveller from this kingdom came and met with my father. Discussions had gone back and forth, until we finally started talking about you and how you would run things. Ever since I first laid eyes on that piece of paper, I knew that I had to be with you, work with you. You and I would make a wonderful team. We'd go down history, because of the things we did to transform this country into a beautiful paradise. So, will you help me?"

"Burn in hell," she hissed through her teeth. He simply laughed in her face, as indignant as it was, and leant down to kiss her forehead.

"Just so you know, my dear, I haven't called our wedding off. Like I said, I need to make sure you'll not go running off, since I'll need you around." Surprisingly, Akane didn't show the fear that was coursing through her body on her face.

"One day, I'll kill you," she promised.

"I look forward to it, my dearest Akane," he smiled slyly as he slid off her and exited the room. "Now stay here like I told you, alright? I have an extra-special somebody to watch over you." He indicated a rather tall, shady man stood in her doorframe. "This is Sakuya Togane. You'd better remember that name, since he's going to be your personal guard from now on." Then, to Togane, who shot Akane a shit-eating grin. "Not a soul gets in or out of here- unless it's me."

Not for the first time, Akane went to bed with tears streaming down her cheeks. Too terrified for rest, she laid awake in the dark for what felt like days, but she was sure it was only a few hours at maximum. She curled up in a small ball under her blankets, hand placed on her neck, confident that she could still feel the knife there. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't feel the hand on her shoulder, but when she did she nearly sobbed.

"Akane-sama!"

"T-Toko?!" Akane stammered. "What are you-?"

"Shush. No talking for now. I'm to get you dressed and out of here as quickly as I can!" she hissed. "Forgive my crass behaviour, but we really do have to escape!"

"What about Togane?" Akane whispered back. "He'll throw us back in here if he catches us!"

"It's okay. Hinakawa-kun drugged him," Toko replied calmly. "We have it covered! Don't panic!" She dressed Akane quickly, throwing a few clothes and possessions in a bag. Akane noted with a tiny smile Toko had ignored all of Makishima's gifts and selected Kogami's books and her new notebook from him. Soon, Akane was dressed, rose pin in her brunette locks. She noted that she was dressed plainly, and that she was wearing a yukata she used for leisure. "We don't want you standing out. I'm sorry. You can wear your pretty things once we're far from here." Toko peered around the door. "Ready, Hinakawa-kun!"

"I-It was really sc-scary!" he shuffled awkwardly.

"You are very brave, Hinakawa-san," Akane complimented him. "Did everyone make it out then?"

"Your personal guard? Yes. Now, let's hurry before the drugs wear off!" Toko hurried them along the corridor, using Hinakawa as a lookout. Their progress was painfully slow and her heart leapt up to her throat when she so much heard a single noise, and for a while, the three had been forced to hide in a cupboard when Shogo Makishima passed with a man she didn't recognize passed her. The two were having a very amicable conversation about what sounded like organising somebody's death. She had clutched Toko's hand and refused to even breathe until he was well out of the way. Hopefully he wouldn't have noticed her absence quite yet. Just a sighting of him was enough for her two guardians to throw caution to the wind and hurry as quickly as they could from the palace Akane had once called her home. Waiting for her outside were her personal guard, all dressed in black cloaks, which Shion was complaining about.

"Black isn't my colour! It's so unflattering!" She was groaning as they stood waiting for her. "It completely ruins my 'sophisticated' vibe too- and what material is this?"

"Shion, be quiet. If we're found now, we'll all be killed," Yayoi silenced her girlfriend's complaints. Only Akane and the rest of the squad knew about their relationship- her father believed love was only between members of the opposite sex, another thing Akane hated about him. Or rather, had hated about him. Ginoza had given her a comforting hug once he had seen her, and she thought to herself that if Ginoza died, she really would be incredibly sad- he was the closest thing she had to a family now. When Tomomi was first enlisted as a samurai to protect the princess, Akane was a mere three, and Ginoza was six. He had grown up as her playmate and her brother, and Akane knew that a world without him would be lonely indeed.

"Ojou-chan, I'm sorry… as your samurai, we were completely useless," Masaoka got down on his knees and bowed his head in shame.

"It's alright, really, Masaoka-san!" Akane waved him back up. "The fault of what happened here doesn't lie with you, but rather Shogo Makishima. Without you, I would still be trapped in my room. So for that, I thank you."

"Alrighty then! I will use my uselessness to the max!" Kagari shot her an encouraging thumbs up. "Aight, Akane, you're sharing a horse with Yayoi, since she's the most skilled rider here, so if we run into any problems, she'll get you out of there quicker. We all okay with this?"

"Right. Another thing. Akane," Shion turned to the young girl. "I'll have to cut your hair. It's the most noticeable thing about you, so we'll have to cut it. I'm sorry."

"It's hair. It will grow back," Akane said calmly. Secretly, she was a little sad to see it go. But she wouldn't cry now. She wouldn't cry until it was safe to cry. With a stiff nod, Yayoi handed Shion a small knife, and in one smooth stroke, the deed was done. For some odd reason, Shion pocketed the hair.

"So Makishima doesn't notice that your hair is gone," she winked. "Alrighty then. Toko, you're with Masaoka." Without further ado, the group set off into the night, and didn't stop riding until they reached a city that took a day to reach, meaning it put a respectable distance between Akane and Makishima. The news that Princess Akane had been 'kidnapped' by the same horrible people who were responsible for the murder of her parents and Lord Makishima reached their ears the next morning, and Akane could barely keep it within herself to scream that they were wrong, oh so wrong! From that city, they travelled carefully, aware of the fact the entire country was looking for them. Eventually, they had to stop going into any cities or towns at all, sending one of their party on a food run. When Akane was about to give up hope that they would ever leave her father's realm, they did, at the cost of two criminals forced to guard the border. From there, they rode to the capital, where Emperor Sasayama was awaiting them, and had been doing so ever since the attack on the Tsunemori Palace.

Akane, exhausted and still grieving, was in no way prepared for a meeting with the Emperor (who Toko whispered was a notorious pervert), but it seemed the Emperor had already thought of that. Once they arrived in the castle, they were given lodgings and a bath each, and Akane relaxed when she felt Toko massaging her scalp with the bottle of rose shampoo she'd snatched from the bathroom before their escape. She was much gentler than Mika was, and it didn't feel like Toko was trying to rip her scalp off either. Akane felt guilty at the fact she had barely given Mika a thought on their entire journey. "Toko, whatever happened to Mika?"

Toko stopped cleansing what remained of Akane's hair and sat back. "She immediately began grovelling to Makishima that she knew you well enough that she could be your wedding planner, since she knew what you liked and so on. She didn't seem to care that you didn't want to marry him anyway." She carried on rinsing Akane's hair, and then began to brush it. "He reminded me too much of Toma. I didn't want to stay there. And besides, you're much kinder than he ever was. So I wanted to help you as much as possible." Once that was done, Akane was escorted to her new bedchamber, which had none of the familiarities of home, save Kogami's books. Toko left her quickly and told her to get plenty of rest.

However, Akane couldn't sleep, since she found her mind wandering again to Makishima, to Mika, to the people who had helped her get this far, and to Kogami. According to Emperor Sasayama, he was currently residing in the castle too- maybe she should go and find him, but where could she even begin to look?

A quiet, reserved knock on her door snapped her out of her reverie. "Come in!" she called hesitantly, and it swung open silently to reveal the person who had been occupying her thoughts the entire time. "Shinya!" she called, her voice filled with so many emotion she couldn't describe. As always, he got down on one knee and kissed her hand.

"Hello," he said softly, before standing up quickly, and hugging her with almost bone-crushing force. "How I've worried about you."

"I've worried about you, too," she mumbled back, and returned his affection. She felt a hand on her head, stroking comfortingly.

"It's okay now. I'm here." Those were the words she desperately wanted to hear the whole time. She allowed herself to cry herself to sleep, just where it was safe. In Kogami's arms.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Akane's first sensation was panic as she felt herself being pinned down again, but the feeling dissipated when she realised that it was Kogami's arms wrapped protectively around her. The man himself seemed to be deep asleep, as if he hadn't truly rested for the time he and Akane had been apart. Knowing him, he probably hadn't. To be honest, neither had Akane, so she snuggled back into his chest and fell promptly asleep again. She'd felt the safest she'd been for the past two weeks tucked right in Kogami's arms.

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky when Toko finally woke them from their slumber. She seemed loath to do so, but she'd apparently received orders from the Emperor himself to stir them. "I really am sorry!" she apologised at Kogami, who was far taller than her. "It's just that Emperor Sasayama told me to wake you up. He… He, uh, also wants to know if… the both of you… and I quote- 'got it on' last night?"

"I'll go and tell him the answer to that," Kogami rolled his eyes and stepped out the room. Before he departed, he gave Akane a quick kiss on the forehead, pushing her fringe back to do so. His black yukata didn't looked crumpled at all, unlike Akane, who was famed for fidgeting around when she was asleep. Akane watched him leave. Toko nearly cried at the sheer amount of knots in Akane's hair and determinedly dragged a brush through it to smooth them out. She selected the nicest kimono they currently owned (a lilac one with blue and white dancing up the sleeves), and naturally, Kogami's rose pin. Akane practically felt naked when she wasn't wearing it, missing the weight of it on the side of her head.

Outside, Ginoza was waiting for them, donning his green yukata. Since she'd never had chance to tell him before, she told him, "You look really handsome in that, Ginoza-san." He'd flooded a bright vermillion and stuttered out a 'thank you'. Out of all her samurai, he was the one of the worst for accepting compliments.

"Well, my- mother recently made it for me, be-because of my promotion as the leader, and, I'm sure- that she'd be glad to hear that you, uh, the princess, like it, very much," he stammered as he lead them to Emperor Sasayama's throne room. She didn't expect it to be quite so empty, but there was one advisor, a few guards, her personal samurai, and Kogami, who was standing extremely close to Sasayama. The two appeared to be laughing and joking about something or the other, but they stopped once Akane entered.

Sasayama jumped to his feet when he saw Akane, but didn't bow, but waved rather cheerily, like they were old friends. It was at that point when she finally remembered that Sasayama knew an awful lot about her, and she knew next to nothing about him, other than what Toko had heard from other people, and it was hardly a reliable resource. Akane bowed a little uncertainly- after all, this man was an Emperor, so she should treat him with respect, but he chuckled and waved her back up. "S'okay, you don't have to bow." He called over to her. "You must be Akane-chan, huh?" Chan?! Akane was slightly baffled by this man's behaviour- nobody called her chan straight after meeting her, but she remained silent- she needed this person on her side, after all. "Shin-kun's told me a lot about you, and now I just feel grateful to finally be meeting you!"

"I'm glad to make your acquaintance as well," she replied with a small smile on her face. "Unfortunately I can't say a lot has been said about you."

"Of course not!" he guffawed. "Who wants to talk about my ugly mug when you can talk about somebody like you, Akane-chan? Now, come closer, it's awkward to yell things at you from this far away!" Calmly, she walked forward, Toko on her heels; Akane was glad she didn't have to face this alone. For some reason, the girl's presence calmed her, perhaps because it was Toko who saved her from her own bedroom during Makishima's attack. "Man, you're even prettier than Kogami said you were!" Akane blushed, avoiding the king's or Kogami's gaze for the time being. "Damn, call me impressed." His eyes flickered to Toko. "And what's your name, lovely?"

"Me?" she looked unimpressed, but continued anyway. "I'm Toko Kirino, Akane-sama's handmaiden."

"How old are you?" he looked confused at her claim to be Akane's servant. Maybe because she seemed much too young to be a handmaiden.

"I am sixteen," she replied dryly. Akane was totally wrong in her guess that Toko was fourteen- but the girl really did have a young-looking face.

"It's wonderful to make your acquaintance, Toko-chan," Sasayama grinned devilishly at her. "I've got to ask though, are you all alright? You must have faced some pretty horrific stuff during the attack and your journey here."

"I'll be fine," Akane replied, putting on a brave face. "But I beg of you, please make sure my samurai are fully recovered."

"Naturally, naturally!" Sasayama shrugged. "Consider us your allies, Akane-chan! After all, my family has had a long-lasting feud with the Makishimas- I suppose Ko told you that, we-" he broke off to chuckle, "-were going to come and storm your castle, right?"

"That he did," Akane sighed.

"Don't misunderstand! We just didn't want your dad or Makishima in charge of your country- as it is, you guys are the most powerful, and if Makishima seized control- it gives me the willies thinking about it." He shot her a thumbs up. "We wanted to make Princess Akane-chan into Empress Akane-chan!"

"Sir, what about the protection we organised for Akane-sama?" Sasayama's advisor called over flatly.

Sasayama's face lit up in recognition. "Alright, alright, Sugo-kun!" he rolled his eyes. "I was getting to that, if you'd give me chance!" He turned his attention back to Akane and Toko (though Akane suspected he now had eyes primarily for the younger girl, who instinctively hid behind Akane). "Since we don't know how long you'll be staying with us- well, it's until we kick Makishima's ass- I organised a safe house for you, Akane-chan! And Toko-chan too!" He beamed down at the two girls. "Another thing, there didn't happen to be a man named Sakuya Togane lurking around, did there?"

"Makishima organised it so he'd be my prison guard," Akane replied bitterly. "But thank you for giving me a safe place."

"Ah, shit, that's no good," Sasayama rubbed his face with a single hand, inhaling sharply through the nose. "That guy's worse than his boss… shit. Looks like Maki-kun was really serious about keeping you around, Akane-chan…"

"I-I-I won't l-let him!" Sho cried adamantly. "N-No way!"

"I believe you, Hinakawa-san," Akane smiled at the quaking man, knowing that speaking to a large group of people made him nervous. Even though the hall was empty in her eyes, to Hinakawa it probably looked full of people.

"Nobody will, Sho-kun," Masaoka flicked the new addition to the team on the forehead, and he screwed his eyes up in indignation. "Do we even have any idea on how to tackle Makishima, Emperor Sasayama?"

"Nope!" Sasayama grinned. "But Ko tells me you're a skilled tactician, so I suppose I can count on you to help us formulate a plan, right?"

"Of course," Masaoka assented.

"Great! Now, uh, Nobuchika-san, was it?" Sasayama looked pointedly at Ginoza. "Could you be so kind as to escort Akane-chan and Toko-chan with Shin-kun to their lodgings? The rest of your group can practice with my men for the time being," Despite his friendly tone, his words were absolute. "Akane-chan, I've already had a bath run for you if you feel the need to clean off!"

"Thank you, Emperor Sasayama," Akane inclined her head slowly. It seemed the meeting was adjourned, for now. As Kagari waltzed out behind Yayoi, he turned back and called over:

"Hey, Gino-kun? If you peep at Akane-chan in the bath, imma cut you, 'kay?" He winked as if he hadn't just threatened his boss and danced away. Ginoza was blushing out of embarrassment and offence, but Kogami patted him on the back and told him that Kagari's behaviour was always that zany.

Sasayama had built Akane's safe house in a clearing in the middle of the woods, so that attackers, if any, ran the risk of getting lost, and Sasayama had a group of guards circulating around the border of the trees. Kogami and Akane didn't speak for the whole time, but he held her hand, since he could tell that despite outward appearances, she really was afraid. At one point, he interlocked their fingers, and this time, the sense of repulsion she'd had with Shogo didn't come, but rather a feeling of security. Affectionate gestures from Kogami felt… well, she couldn't describe the feeling, but it made her heart warm. The house itself was more of a cottage, with flowers creeping up the side, and roses growing in the garden. The domed roof was painted red, but the main house itself was white, and made of wood with intricate designs carved in the sides. "Huh. I'm impressed," Ginoza gave the building a quick once over.

"This country is famed for its art, so this kind of thing is commonplace," Kogami explained quickly. "Obviously, there aren't as many as beautiful as this." Quickly, he pushed past Ginoza and Toko and lead Akane into the house, and she found it was just as beautiful inside as it was outside. Toko and Ginoza laughed at her antics as she looked in each room with a strange enthusiasm- of course, it had been the first time she'd been out of her country before, so naturally she'd be excited. Eventually, Ginoza had to strictly drag Kogami away for training, and told Toko to take good care of Akane, which of course, started with a bath. To Akane's surprise and delight, the bath was outside, like a natural hot spring.

"Toko, come in with me! The water's really good!" Akane called over to the plainly dressed handmaiden.

"Akane-sama, I couldn't!" Toko laughed at the offer. "Are you being serious?"

"Of course I am! You deserve it as much as I do- you've been travelling all this time, and you must have been scared too! Besides, didn't you always say that baths are good for relaxing?" Akane walked over to the edge where Toko was standing. "If not, I'll pull you in!" she warned mockingly.

"Uh… just give me a minute!" Toko grinned and soon she had joined Akane in the bath, giggling like crazy. "You're right, the water is good!"

"I'll wash your hair for you, if you want," Akane offered.

"I couldn't- would you?" Toko realised that it was no use to turn down Akane's nice gestures, so she sat in sheepish silent as Akane scrubbed shampoo gently into Toko's hair, and instead of rinsing it off, she dunked Toko's head under. Spluttering, she emerged, and wasted no time in splashing water at Akane's face, which Akane returned with equal vigour.

"Ara, ara, are we interrupting something~?" Shion's voice sang out. The two paused in their water fight to see Yayoi and Shion standing above them, both smiling. In Shion's hands was a sword not to dissimilar to the one Akane frequently practiced with back at home, and Yayoi was clutching a mannequin, and both revelled in the light that shone in Akane's eyes at the sight. "Heh, we got you a little something to pass the time. Now, then, Akane-chan, that bath looks absolutely divine… can we join you lovely ladies?"

"Be my guest!" Akane invited them in. Once the older women had joined them in the bath, Shion set to neatening Akane's hair up, and when Akane caught her reflection in the mirror, she preferred it short- she could see her face a little better. Yayoi watched the scene unfold quietly, styling Toko's hair in that same contented silence.

And then, nearly inaudibly: "We're being watched."

"Ah, a peeking Tom, huh? On the Princess Akane too!" Shion tutted.

"It's not a peeking Tom," Yayoi's eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. "I'll go and see what it is." She slid on a robe quickly and picked up the sword that they'd brought for Akane. "I apologise, but I must have this with me should I have to fight."

The three girls slipped out of the bath and into clothes in case they had to make another getaway, but Yayoi returned, shaking her head. "I guess I was just being paranoid. Sorry for making you worry," she bowed deeply and handed the sword to Akane. "Still, I can't shake it off, but again, it's nothing." After that, Shion set up a small training space for Akane whilst Yayoi and Toko cooked a meal for them. After that, they sat down on the floor and listen to Yayoi singing and Shion telling jokes. After several hours, the duo slipped back to castle, and Toko followed them, since Akane had requested some books to read. To keep herself occupied until the others returned, she ended up slicing at the mannequin again, and again until she had broken out into a thin sheen of sweat.

To cool down, she climbed out the window onto the roof, where she could see the stars better and laid down. However, her heart rate leapt when she briefly glimpsed a pale figure on the edge of the clearing, and she blinked, hoping it was false. When she looked where the figure had been stood, there was nothing there but the shadows the moon was casting down.

Sufficiently calmed, Akane laid back down, feeling utterly defenceless without her sword at her side. However, there was no questioning it. The figure that she'd seen, or thought she'd seen, belonged to Shogo Makishima.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Eh? Sasayama-san wants to see you?" Akane looked at the cringing Toko, who nodded bashfully.

"I-It's only for today. Then I'll come right back to you, Akane-san!" In the past week or so, Toko and Akane had been getting closer, to the point Akane had told her handmaiden to drop the honorific, but Toko insisted that she used san first. In truth, Akane had no intentions of stopping Toko from seeing Sasayama- she knew that the king and her handmaiden had been getting quite close, and whenever she mentioned him, Toko's face would take on a shade of pink, or red. "He said he'll send Ko-Kogami-san to see you today, and I quote, 'in exchange'." Akane giggled at that, and sent Toko on her merry way, and in return, Sasayama sent Kogami.

When she opened the door, he'd immediately bent his knee and kissed her hand. "Hello," he whispered into it.

"Hello, Shinya," she returned. "Come in." He'd straightened up, petted her head affectionately and sat down in the main room, where she'd already prepared a pot of tea for the two of them. "It's rose tea. I hope you don't mind. It's my favourite…"

"Then I don't mind at all," he told her, taking a sip of the sweet tea. Though sweet things weren't necessarily his thing, this one reminded him so much of Akane he was debating whether it should become his favourite drink as well. "It looks like you've been practising a lot," he nodded towards the sliced up mannequin, and Akane laughed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Yep!" she agreed. "I just imagine Makishima's face and suddenly, my technique is much better."

"I can agree with you there," Kogami snickered, stretching his arms in front of him. "Seriously, I'm so glad I got the day off. Not only do I get to see you, I get to finally sit my ass down." She arched an eyebrow at him, but he ignored it. "And there was something else that I wanted to talk to you about, actually."

She knew by the tone in his voice that it was a serious topic, and that they would have to talk about it, regardless of whether she wanted to hear it or not. "Go on."

"It's about our plan to tackle Makishima," he frowned at the tea cup. "We've finally come up with one, after endless tweaking, and so forth."

"Well, what is it?" Akane warmed her hands on her own cup, feeling a chill running throughout her body when she heard that name.

"The first step is Sasayama pretending to have tricked you- you're now his 'prisoner', effectively," Kogami began, and sighed. "After that, he and a few others are going to take you back to him-" he paused when he saw Akane's eyes widen. "Don't worry. I'll be really close by, so if the situation turns sour, I'll come and get you. I'd never do anything-ever- that would put you in danger." His fist clenched on the table, and Akane eyed it warily. "At the same time, Sasayama will be assembling his army far away from the castle's eye, but close enough that he should be able to launch an attack on it. You only need to be with that guy for a day- is that alright?"

"I'm a lot stronger than you think I am, you know," Akane clutched the fabric of her skirts in between her fingers. "Give me credit where it's due."

"I know, I know. I just… need to make sure you'll be okay," he looked down. "I worry a lot about you, you know," Akane blushed at his words. "Toko and Hinakawa will be accompanying you, and I'm sure Toko will be allowed to stay with you. Hinakawa and Toko will then open a path for us and keep the side doors unlocked, so we're not barging through the main entrance."

"It will work, won't it?"

"I trust the old man's judgement, and Sasayama has a pretty tough army, if I do say so myself. There's a genral hatred of Makishima in these parts." Kogami comforted her again, and they fell into a silence. Suddenly, Kogami leant over and held Akane close to his chest, and Akane's heart began pounding against her ribs. "Dammit, Akane," I whispered, his grip tightening. "Why the hell was I ever okay with just handing you to that bastard? Why was I ever okay with the fact you were being given to a stranger?" Akane said nothing but rub his back in small circles, trying to calm him.

Akane spent the rest of the day reading on the balcony (or rather, that's what she said she was doing), but in actuality was observing Kogami practicing with his sword on a wooden dummy, and with each strike, splinters of wood were thrown into the air. She was completely mesmerised by his movements- no matter how hard she trained from this day, she doubted she would ever be as fluid as that, and felt a pang of jealousy thinking about it. Kogami had taken his shirt off when the heat got too much for him, and Akane's glances had to be much more furtive then.

"Hey… Shinya," she called over, once he had decided to rest for a while when dusk fell.

"What is it?" he called up.

"Just give me a minute. I'll come down there!" she practically ran back inside the house and into the garden, where he was waiting for her. He didn't bother kneeling to kiss her hand this time, but he brought it to his lips, a smile plastered on his face.

She sat down next to him, leaning against a tree. "Well, I wanted to ask you something," she admitted. He looked at her, and she continued. "Shinya, have you ever thought about your… marriage?"

"Me? Getting married?" He pondered her question for a while. "Well, my situation is kind of complicated, so I try not to think about it too much. It makes me sad."

"Why's it complicated?" Akane asked. "I'm smart, you know. I think I'll understand."

He sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'll tell you." He stood up and walked a little ways from her, as if he was examining the scruffy wooden mannequin. "There is a girl- well, she's grown into a woman now, and one I'm proud to see." His left hand clutched the dummy's shoulder. "She's so curious, and accepting of anyone and everyone. And I love hearing her voice, and I never want to stop hearing it." He looked into the distance with a bitter chuckle. "It's almost like her voice gives me strength, you know? Whenever I have to trek wherever I was sent, I just fell asleep, and still fall asleep, replaying the conversations I've had with her. But… even if she did accept me, I can never have her. It would only endanger her life, so it's better that my feelings for her are never shared."

Since he wasn't looking at Akane, he wasn't aware of the tears that had pooled in her eyes and had quickly spilled over. After years and years of hoping that maybe the feeling she had with Kogami was reciprocated, she now knew his heart belonged to somebody else. The pain in her heart felt physical, like someone was ripping it to shreds. "Well, that's sad to hear," she was amazed at how level her voice was, despite the emotion tearing its way through her body. "I'm sorry, Kogami-san."

"Akane, are you alright?" he finally turned to face her, but she glanced away.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," she spoke as she stood up, holding her head, hoping to stop the dizziness.

"If you're not feeling good, you should rest," he walked towards her.

"I'm honestly fine," she insisted, and he moved closer to her, extending his hand. In that moment, Akane felt a flash of fury surge through her veins, and she slapped the hand away. "I said I'm okay!" He lowered it in shock, but the wounded expression on his face did nothing to subside her anger. "Look, I'm not a child, Kogami-san! I know you have to protect me and that it's your job to, but you know I can take care of some things by myself. I can look after myself perfectly fine- I don't need you constantly breathing down my neck out of worry!" He tried to speak, but she wasn't quite done yet. "Damn you," she almost whispered. "I tried so damn hard just to be like you, because I wanted your recognition above anyone else's, but I also wanted to grow as my own person too! All I've wanted this whole time is for you to be proud of me, is that too much to ask?!" She clenched her fists at her sides. "And yes…" she looked up at him, knowing that she was going to mean every word she said. "I really did fall madly in love with you! To the point that I thought I'd go insane!" She gritted her teeth and continued, determined to finish what she started. "You were pretty much the highlight of my life- I was tired of living a boring, safe life, and you let me look into a world that I was never allowed to have! You were the only person who treated me as an equal, hell, as a person! I never cared that my father was never proud of me, just because I was a girl- the only person I wanted to be proud of me was you! Everything you brought back from your travels, I cherished dearly because it, because it made me feel close to you! But I didn't think that you… that you still thought I was a child! Why did you-"

She was caught off guard by his hands, which were running along her cheeks to settle in her hair, the other travelling down her back, and she could only watch as he leaned closer. His lips crashed onto hers, and instinctively, she raised her hands to cling onto his shoulders and she could feel his gripping harder in her hair, and his lips pressing harder into hers. She opened her mouth to ask him precisely what he was doing, but before she could, his tongue pressed forward. Her own went to meet his, and eventually, she stood on tiptoes just to kiss him harder, sighing at the feeling. When he finally pulled away, she heard a distinct whine fill the air, and blushed at having made the sound.

"Akane," he whispered her name into her hair. "I, too, fell madly in love with you." Tears spilled out of the corners of her eyes, despite the intense joy that wracked through her. "I know it's definitely selfish of me, but if… if we finally get past this situation, would you… would you stay with me?"

"Yes," she sniffed, laughing. "I'd love that."

 _A short distance away from the couple, a white-clad man sat in his hiding place. Shogo Makishima had found Akane and her friends almost immediately, but he'd decided to give them a little bit of false hope first. This game he was playing with them was indeed very fun. "How rude of you, Akane," he sighed, leaning back against the tree. "I'd really hate to have to discipline you, but after hurting me like this, I suppose you don't give me a choice."_


	8. Chapter 8

**[Smut ahead]**

Chapter Eight

Akane sunk deeper in the hot spring outside her house. It had been two days since Kogami had kissed her, and the memory still made butterflies appear in her stomach and a strange heat rise in her cheeks. Sasayama had been requesting Toko's presence more and more, and Akane enjoyed the happy blush which settled on her handmaiden's cheeks when she talked about the kind Emperor. She'd eventually told Toko to _just go and see him already_ and when she'd nodded that _yes, she was being serious_ , Toko had bowed deeply, hugged the princess and sped off faster than light. Now, that she was alone, her thoughts returned to Kogami, reliving the experience. Since it was quite late, she'd decided that it would be best for her to sleep, since she was setting off in a few days to be handed right back into Makishima's clutches. She wasn't afraid. She was strong enough to handle whatever he had planned for her in that one day, and she would ensure she had her knife on her wherever she went. Besides, Kogami wouldn't allow anything bad to happen to her. He even promised. And Kogami never, ever, went back on his word.

She pulled on her night garments and padded softly to her room. She was about to get into bed, when she heard a knock on her door. She slid the wood panel back to see who it was, and her heart leapt when she saw that it was Kogami, and she threw it completely back. A cool breeze washed over her, and it was only then did she realise just how warm it was inside the house. "Shinya!" she waved. "Come in." He glanced up at her and smiled softly, and she ran downstairs to meet him. He didn't bother kissing her hand this time. Instead, he just tilted her chin up so he could capture her lips in his, but it didn't come anywhere close to the kiss of a couple of nights ago, since it was just a quick peck.

"Hello," they said together, and Akane giggled at their strange custom.

"I've missed you," he admitted, pulling her in for a one-armed hug.

"I've missed you, too," she echoed his words back to him. "Let's go to my room. It's comfier and cooler in there," she told him, taking him by the hand, leading him to her room. She had been feeling on edge when she was alone before, as if she was being watched, but now that he was here, she was in her own safe haven again. He sat on one side of her bed, and she sat on the other.

"You're right, it is much better in here," he murmured looking around at the little ways Akane had tweaked it to make it more personal. Kogami especially noticed how strong the smell of roses was in here- to him, it was almost intoxicating.

"Kogami?" Akane spoke up after a moment's silence. "Can I lean on you?" He was only slightly taken aback by her request and shifted so that he had her in his arms again, her head resting on his chest. "This is nice. How was your day?"

"Bit of a mix really," he replied. "Everyone's on edge about heading to take you to Makishima- did you know some of the army have already set off?" She gazed through her eyelashes into Shinya's blue ones, wanting him to continue talking. "But Kagari and Shion were all making sure nobody was sad for too long."

"Sounds a lot like them," Akane agreed, nodding her head.

"I don't want to give you back to that asshole, even for a single minute," he growled, the grip on her hands getting stronger. "I think I really will go mad,"

"I will too, and Sasayama even said, it's just a single day- not a lot can happen in that time, I'm sure," Akane tried to sound encouraging, but she didn't believe a single word that came out of her mouth. Perhaps Kogami did, though.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "Here you are trying to look on the bright side, and then there's me, being so negative about it. You really are amazing. You know that, right, Akane?" Akane blushed and sat up to look at him, crouching down to press their foreheads together, before kissing it gently. She pulled back, a tad embarrassed, expecting Kogami to say something, but his eyes were stuck to her, wider than usual.

"S-Shinya?" Akane reached out her hand to stroke his hair, bring him back to reality, but instead, she found herself being flung on the bed, looking up at Shinya, whose knee was wedged firmly between her legs. She glanced back up at Kogami to see he was breathing rather heavily. His hand found its place on her cheek again, stroking his thumb on it in circles, before leaning in, as if he was going to kiss her again. A hair's breadth was between them when he froze, his entire body seeming to lock up. He jumped off Akane faster than she could blink, and bowed deeply, as if in apology.

"Goddammit, what the hell was I thinking?" he chastised himself, before looking at the puzzled Akane. "I'm sorry, Akane, that was way out of line. Forgive me. I'll see you in the morning." He turned away from her sharply and set off to leave, but he was held back by a hand clutching his sleeve. "What are you-?"

"Shinya…" she looked at her hand furiously, avoiding his gaze. "I..." Her face was upgraded from red to vivid crimson. He said nothing, so she swallowed her dignity and looked him square in the face. "Take me." Her voice came out more commanding then she intended, and the entire situation caught Shinya off guard. She dropped his sleeve, but he didn't move an inch, and stared at her in utter surprise.

"You… don't know what you're saying," he muttered, almost so quietly she didn't hear him.

"I do," she retorted.

"No, you don't," he sat on the bed next to her, not meeting her gaze. "I'd just corrupt you. I can't do that, not to you."

"Then what if Makishima gets to me first? Are you saying you're perfectly okay with him corrupting me, then?" she finally moved her eyes away from his face and onto the floor, and she could tell it had struck a nerve. "Besides, we both know that I'm stronger than that. But I suppose if you don't want to-"

"What? Of course I want to- hell, I'd love to, but-" he stumbled over his words. "I'm meant to court you first, take you for walks, and to dinner, and to kiss you. And it doesn't seem right. You're a princess, and I'm me, the dog, as Mika calls me."

"Shinya… we don't have time to do all that courting stuff in the three days we have left before I get sent right back to Makshima, and God knows what that guy will do!" she took his hand in hers, and he automatically interlocked their fingers. "So, whatever happens… if I'm forced to spend the rest of my life with Makishima, if I have to marry him… I want to have memories of you first."

"You're sure?" he asked, tentatively. His confidence returned when Akane nodded at him. His lips crushed on hers before she had chance to even think another thought. Their tongues slid around each other, almost naturally, as his lips worked against hers. She felt his hand curled up in her short locks, and the other clutching the material at the small of her back. He was much rougher than he had been before, as he pushed her back down on the mattress, hands now at both sides of her head, knees squeezing her sides. He broke away from her, panting heavily, and Akane was gasping for air as well.

He leant back on his knees so his hands were free to slide off her kimono. "Can I?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she reached a hand up to stroke his cheek reassuringly, and he took this as a good sign as he slid the kimono off her slender shoulders, but not completely off, since he wanted to savour the moment. He wrapped his hand around her wrist and kissed each finger individually, before adjusting to lock their fingers together as he trailed his lips along her arm. Akane shivered as each spot his lips brushed grew hot before settling to a light glow, a sigh escaping her lips as he left feather-light kisses on her shoulder. He burrowed his face into her neck to nip at the skin, and Akane's breath hitched as he continued his actions, tugging on her skin between his teeth with sharp little bites. He paused for a moment to gaze at her, and a low whine crawled up her throat, and she made no attempt to prevent it. The kisses began again, trailing down her neck to the valley between her breasts. He looked up at her again, and she just nodded, and whispered, "Yes." His gaze flickered back to her chest, and she stopped breathing for a moment. His eyes… looked so- "Ah." She was driven out from any form of coherent thought as his tongue dragged across her nipple, her head tipping back momentarily. He latched onto her breast, dragging a small stretched out sound from her mouth. She moaned as he sucked at it, before diverting his attention onto the skin of her breast, nipping the sensitive flesh to bring it into his mouth before sucking softly. Her hands reached out to grasp the back of his head, fingers curling into the black locks as if to anchor him to her. She gasped as his teeth grazed her nipple, revelling in this strange warm feeling that flowed throughout her entire body, especially between her legs. It was like she was pleasantly burning, the heat blossoming outwards wherever Shinya touched her.

He surged suddenly back up to her face, kissing everywhere that wasn't her lips. She twisted her head to try and catch him and make him kiss her again, but he laughed quietly as he left her face to lay kisses on her throat. Finally, he kissed her lips, but it was only a quick peck, again, and she groaned and tried to move her hands to hold his cheeks, but that just made him move his hands to pin hers against the bed. She could hear his own breath coming fast, and she wiggled against him, wanting to be touched again. He grabbed the remainder of her dress, and before he dared pull it all the way off, he looked at her. "Akane. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, yes," her voice sounded breathy, but she didn't particularly care. She felt a rush of cool air on her thighs, and blinked as he threw the garment unceremoniously behind him. He raised a hand to trail his fingers up her thigh, almost gliding over her skin. Akane whimpered as her hips twitched forward, almost missing the smile spreading slowly on his face. A hand clasped down on her right leg, keeping it pinned down, and she could feel his hot breath on her inner leg. He started nipping on her inner left thigh, drawing moan after moan from her, that smile staying on his cheeks before he himself froze. She started to twist her hips, but he held her fast. Akane trembled with need up until Shinya's tongue drew across the front of her panties, the heat seeping out through to her skin, and she cried out.

"Should I keep going?" he asked, still treating her with care and respect.

"Please," she pleaded, and she didn't have to say anything more as she saw her panties flung, precisely as her dress was before, flashing in the light for a brief second. She then became aware of the wet feeling between her legs, so she pressed them together, to have them pried apart not a minute afterwards. Shinya's hands wrapped back around her thighs, keeping both pinned to the bed before his face was lowered. Akane twisted her head to the side with a near-silent groan when she felt his breath against her, making her feel much warmer than she was. When his tongue touched her and trailed up, she moaned for the entire duration of that first lick. Her nerves felt like they had almost exploded from the sensation, and his tongue was on her sooner than predicted, and she was gasping and moaning with each slight contact, screaming when he flicked her clit. He closed his lips around the sensitive nub and sucked, repeating the treatment he gave her breasts. The wetness between her legs seemed to have disappeared, and she pushed herself onto hr elbows to catch sight of a white dribble on Shinya's chin that was quickly licked off by his prowling tongue.

He glanced up at her briefly, his lips glistening. "I could do that all night," he said, in a tone half way between a threat and a promise.

"Sh-" she started to say his name, but was cut off when his tongue moved among her folds to plunge inside. "Shinya!" his name fell off her lips as a half-moan, half-scream as she collapsed back onto the bed.

At first it was a slow movement as if testing the waters, and then the pace picked up suddenly, as his tongue thrusting forward, as deep as he could get it. Twisting it inside of her caused her to arch up from the bed, bringing her hips forward in an attempt to get it further in. She felt a finger leave her leg to press against her clit as he removed his tongue. He calmly returned his hand to her leg, and plunged back inside her body, exploring nook and cranny. Her following scream pierced the air, her back arching off the bed and pressing herself closer to him. All the tension she had felt collecting in her had been released, and a delicious feeling was running through her entire body. When she fell back onto the bed, his tongue was still giving her a thorough lashing, and she could feel that tension coiling in the pit of her stomach again. She moved her hands down to grasp in his hair, hoping to keep him there, wanting to feel that again. When she felt herself nearing that edge again, he pulled back, and she moaned in frustration.

"M-More," she gasped whilst fighting to bring her harsh breathing down to a normal pace, and she moaned at the sight of his face lowering again, licking her up and down again, but pulling away once she neared the edge. "Please, Shinya."

Another smile flashed across his face and he stood up quickly, practically tearing his yukata off, and Akane peered at the well-defined abs on his chest. She licked her lips subconsciously, wanting to lay as many kisses she could across the expanse of skin, but he pushed her back down, before pulling down his underpants. Her breath finally slowed, and she tried to look away because of the blood she felt rushing to her face. He returned his hands to either side of her head, and she could feel his cock against her thigh. "You wanted more, right?" His lips curled up at her positive response. "Okay." He scattered a few kisses across her face. "This might hurt a little," he murmured into her ear, as his hand positioned himself at her entrance.

She wrapped her arms around him and clutched at his muscled back. "Shinya," she whispered back. "How much will it hurt?"

"You'll only feel it for a second," he promised, and she relaxed against him. "If it helps, dig your nails in all you want." Was he being serious? Akane glanced at his determined eyes, before ducking down to hide in his shoulder, her grip tightening on his back. "Akane, relax," he purred her name in her ear, which certainly did soothe her, and her hands smoothed over his skin. She could feel a foreign sensation in her core as he pushed forward for a moment. Briefly, she tensed, but relaxed when no pain had come. Suddenly, his hips moved fast in a fluid motion, and she mewled barely a second later. There was a sharp pain between her legs, and she allowed a pained noise to escape her. Kogami caught her lips in a searing kiss again, and when he pulled back, he gazed at her with questioning eyes, but she nodded in consent. She kissed him again before she could moan as he picked up the pace, and slowly she started moving her hips as well to match with his rhythm.

Her moans increased in volume, and she became aware of him moaning and gasping with her, the sound going straight in her ear, and it was at that moment she realised her lips were next to his ear too, meaning he heard every little sound she made too. He stretched her slick walls as it filled her, thick and hard, and he drew back deliberately, so that she felt every last bit of the friction between them; she moaned with each slow thrust, her limbs wrapping around him, and bit by bit, the pace got faster. With one last, deep thrust, she screamed at the top of her lungs, feeling herself clamp around him as she arched her body one last time, and he held her close, groaning her name repeatedly. It was only then Akane became aware of the fluid he'd spilt inside her.

She fell back onto the bed, where Shinya pushed her backwards and began to press numerous kisses into her skin, leaning up to nibble at her ear and whisper how much he truly did love her. Her heart pounded, and as she wrapped her arms around him, she mumbled, "I love you, too." He returned her embrace, and fell onto the bed, hands securely holding her around her waist. Akane rested her check against Shinya's chest, listening to his heartbeat, before promptly falling asleep to the sound of his voice telling her that he loved her, oh so very much.

 _Outside, hiding amongst the trees, Shogo Makishima felt as though he had been slapped in the face. Never before had anyone dared disrespect him, and he felt incredibly insulted. He'd decided that that night was going to be the night he finally brought Akane back to her true home, but as he had gotten close, he'd heard some rather peculiar noises drifting from Akane's open window. Immediately, he'd gotten stealthier, and was practically touching the wall outside her room when he'd dared look in. And what he saw horrified him. Akane- his Akane, could he add- was laid back on the bed, completely naked and moaning Shinya Kogami's name. The man himself was positioned between Akane's legs, and defiling her. Makishima barely reigned in the temptation to slash his throat there and then, but somehow managed. As he crept away into the trees once more, a multitude of ideas about just what he'd love to do with the troublesome samurai had already began drifting through his head._


	9. Chapter 9

_[I haven't actually read/seen Akatsuki no Yona yet, for those wondering. Also, this chapter has a creepy Maki and if it makes you uncomfortable, just don't read it.]_

Chapter Nine

Once Shinya opened his eyes, he couldn't help but smile. Akane was curled against him, legs twisted up in his own, her head resting at an angle along the bottom half of his shoulder whilst her cheek was pressed against his chest. The entire length of her body was melded into his own. He frowned slightly at the fact he had forgotten to put a sheet over the two of them, but since she wasn't shivering, it must have been okay. Next to him, her face was contented and peaceful, even, her left arm flung over his chest so it rose and fell with each breath he took, while her right arm was awkwardly stuck between their bodies before wrapping around her abdomen, just beneath her breasts.

His eyes stopped in their 'Akane appreciation', and lingered on her breasts for a little longer than was necessary. He raised an arm from around her to skim his fingers on her skin. She was beautiful. If anything was perfect she had to be it. He pressed a finger against her nipple before pulling away and watching it harden of its own accord. He looked away again with a sigh- hopefully he hadn't been too rough with her nearing the end of their activities the previous night. Surely if he had, she would have said something without pleasure lacing every syllable. Seeing how she hadn't, he guessed not.

Just remembering all those different moans with their frequency and varying amount of pleasure that kept raising with each following action were enough to make his head spin again. Little gasps, her breath going short for a moment, even her whines of frustration- he'd heard them all with her mouth positioned directly next to his ear. He'd done that on purpose. There had been a little mewl, if memory served, since he'd felt her nails biting into his back as her body trembled against him. The amount of times he'd imagined having Akane beneath him, calling his name, didn't come close to the real experience.

Bringing his hands up, he ran his fingers over her face, watching her eyelids flicker for a second. He leant down to kiss her forehead as her eyes finally opened to look at him fully. Her face broke into an expression of joy, her eyes shining up at him. "Good morning, Shinya!" her voice came out soft, as she stretched. His grip along her waist tightened, making her press closer to him, and he moved a leg over her own when it started to slip from him.

"Morning, beautiful."

"Huh?" Akane's shoulders rolled back and she visibly flinched, but her arms settled back onto the bed, and grinned almost childishly at the compliment. "Oh, that's me." She raised a hand to wrap along the back of his neck, her face turning up, and he leaned down to kiss her softly.

Shinya pulled away soon after the simple kiss, knowing if he continued he wouldn't be able to stop and would be doing something more than a gentle touch. Her body being naked and pressed against his wasn't helping either, as much as he liked the sensation of Akane being close to him. He used the excuse of her flinching as a distraction. "Are you okay?" he traced a finger down her shoulder to her hand, the same one he had kissed last night.

"Hm," she pondered his question, before smiling, "I feel fine!" She blushed and looked away. "Actually, I still feel pretty great." He smirked at that comment, despite already knowing that she had enjoyed it- hearing her saying made her feel so much better. "I am a little sore though- I don't usually sleep on my side."

He sat up, pulling her with him. "Turn around." She complied, trusting him completely. As he set his hands on her shoulder and applied a bit of pressure, she sighed softly. He massaged her shoulders for a few more minutes, before asking, "It was just your shoulders, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," she turned around to face him, but he gently guided her chin to its original position. "Why'd you ask?"

He finally admitted his worries to her. "Was I hurting you at all last night?" When she faced him again, he didn't stop her.

"You were worried about me?" she placed her hands on both sides of his head, and he nodded stiffly in reply. She gripped his shoulders and leant in so her face was inches from his. "I didn't feel anything if you were. I was a bit preoccupied." Their lips connected, and they stayed like that for a few more minutes, and Shinya became aware of her breasts pressing against his chest, and moved his own hand to ghost over the flesh, making her shiver.

He finally distanced them (though it could hardly be called a distance), and told her. "Go take a bath. I'll make us some breakfast, okay? And some of the rose tea you enjoy so much." He slid off the bed with a wink and got dressed in record time, before departing. Otherwise, he would have been pushing into her within minutes, and he didn't want her thinking he was only interested in her for sex. Even if it was really amazing sex.

* * *

A stony faced Akane was now glaring up at Makishima, Toko on her right, and a nervous and shaking Hinakawa on her left. In front of her, Sasayama was telling Makishima how he had no interest in helping a woman sworn to another man (when that had been suggested to him, he nearly punched the person who had in the face), and that he had returned her to him, as he was rightfully hers (again, that was one broken nose too close). She gritted her teeth together and scowled at the golden eyed man, who was ignoring Sasayama and was glancing directly at her. Once Makishima had decided he'd heard enough of Sasayama, he silenced him and thanked him for returning 'his beloved Akane' to him- Akane had wanted to punch him in his stupid smug face, or at least wanted Sasayama to.

Her mind flickered back to that breakfast with Kogami, the memory of it giving her enough strength to keep a straight face. That had been a week ago, and she hadn't seen Kogami since the day they had departed Sasayama's palace- whilst she was headed directly to the palace, he had to loop around the back with the remainder of Sasayama's army. The plan had gone ahead, and she knew she had to survive just one day. Just one more day and then she'd safely be in Shinya's arms again.

She blocked out the conversation the two men had, and didn't speak until she was forced to her feet by Sakuya Togane, who was glaring maliciously at Toko and Sho, probably recalling how they were the ones who made him fail in his duty. With a slight sense of alarm, Akane noticed how he had a bandage wrapped the whole way up one of his arms, and prayed to whatever gods still acted in the world that they had been on before her escape. Judging from the state of them, that wasn't likely. She'd protested heavily and loudly, only half-acting, but Makishima had silenced her. "Togane-san, take my dear Akane to my personal quarters. I will be joining you within the hour," he ordered the older man. "Meanwhile, Hinakawa and Kirino can be escorted to the dungeons. Togane will question them later." Akane felt her heart plummet- now Sho and Toko couldn't open the doors for the army! Had… Makishima figured out their plans? If so, his face didn't show it.

Togane dragged her along the corridors, and when she adamantly refused to move, he roughly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her along like that, and the sudden sting made her eyes water dangerously, but she didn't cry. She wouldn't cry. In Makishima's personal lodgings stood Mika, as iron-masked as ever. Togane left them with threats of killing Mika if Akane escaped, and Mika nodded meekly, before glaring down at Akane. "Ugh, you had to go and anger him, didn't you?" she sniffed.

"He killed my parents!" Akane protested.

"And somehow you cried no tears for them," Mika responded with equal ice. "Now, with all due respect, shut up, Princess." Akane was silenced after that, and listened to Mika's complaints. "What did you do to your hair? It's terrible now." She frowned at the cropped style. "Well, there isn't a lot I can do about that now. I suppose you'll have to do." Akane felt calm as she listened to Mika rambling on and on, almost as if she had travelled back in time to before Makishima arrived into her life and ruined everything for her. She tensed up when Mika suddenly stood up straight and glanced steadily at the door, which had now opened. Akane focused on her feet, curling her toes and trying to hide her fear.

"Dismissed, Shimotsuki," Makishima commanded, and Mika hurried the room. Like Kogami, he grabbed Akane's hand and gave it a kiss, before letting it fall by her side again. "Hello, Akane," his tone sounded sadistic, and Akane balled her fists.

She didn't move her head until a switchblade under her chin pushing it up, so she could truly see the terrible expression etched on features. "How I've missed you." He pocketed the knife again, so he had both hands to stroke her face and her hair; Akane shuddered when his cold fingers wrapped around the back of her neck. "Now, I have you, Princess Akane- flower of the Tsunemori clan." He was eye level with her now, his face devoid of any expression other than twisted delight. "Wasn't it such a shame that your poor father didn't have a son?" He was mocking her now- he'd picked up on the fact Emperor Tsunemori had been disappointed about his child's gender. "Alas, he adored his wife too much to remarry or have a mistress on the side, and I suppose I'm thankful to his traditional values- it worked out in my favour, after all." His hand moved from her back of her neck to her throat, where he added a bit of pressure, making breathing harder than it was a few minutes ago. "However… I didn't expect you to be this much of a handful." His grip lessened after that, and went back to stroking her hair, and his tone turned loving, almost. "Having the emperor's daughter in my bed and under my control… isn't that a lovely picture, Akane, darling?"

"You're fucking sick," Akane growled, the need to punch him in the face intensifying. However, she couldn't block the deft slap he laid across her face, forcing her head to one side. Smarting, she turned back to glare at him, and he laid a kiss on her cheek. Her mother used to kiss her injuries, Akane remembered, and she used to say she was kissing it better.

"Now, Akane, that isn't a very nice thing to say, is it?" he smiled gently. "I don't appreciate that kind of language, especially from you. I don't think it will help us work as a team, to be honest." He looked away from her, his hand never once leaving her face. "Well, I shouldn't worry about it too much. You won't be much use to me once you've produced an heir." For a split second, Akane forgot how to breathe, but she kept calm all the same. One day, and then Kogami would come and kill him. "I just want you to be my lovely, wedded wife to show off to the world, but…" he broke off and leant dangerously close to her ear. "Unfortunately, you smell too much like dog." _He knew; he definitely knew._ Despite the sheer terror that seemed to punch her in gut, externally, she gritted her teeth and glared at him, making him laugh. "Now, rest, my sweet. And smile," he laughed, as if they were talking about anything other than Akane's terrible future. "You'll be my pretty, happy, clever little wife soon- how exciting, no?" He stood up, towering over her. "Just keep in mind, my dear, that it really wouldn't be good for you to try anything funny… unless you want that dog of yours completely out of the picture. And even then, if you continually defy me, I can't make any guarantees about the fate of your friends, your personal bodyguards and your handmaiden. And then, after that, and they're all gone, I suppose the only person left is yourself. And, oh, the things I would love to do you," there seemed to a pale pink smudge across his cheeks. "But, I shan't for now- I do need you to be perfect."

"Perfect for what?" she tried to sound commanding, and in power, but her voice came out as a pathetic whimper.

"Well, when I get around to enjoying you," his golden eyes gazed at her. "Just as Shinya Kogami enjoyed you." Akane felt like being sick. Surely he didn't mean-

He smiled before leaning down, as if he was going to kiss her, but she turned away. He grabbed her head and held her fast, and she felt like sobbing the nearer he got to her. Makishima inwardly laughed with delight when he saw her reaction, knowing that she didn't fear the moment he used his knife against her, but the moment he captures his lips in hers. She did, and good heavens, she hated it. And when he pressed his tongue again her lips, she nearly punched him; however, she kept her lips sealed, until the point he pinched her skin, so she gasped and accidentally opened her mouth. She wanted to spit, to vomit, and to remove him from her system; but he had invaded, touched and tainted every crevice of her mouth. His stench filled her nose and drowned her lungs, and Akane wanted to cry, but didn't- she had been taught not to cry, to not reveal the merest shed of defeat during times of despair. He finally parted from her and pulled her by her collar to her feet, before dragging her to the window.

"Your father tried to keep this kingdom stable, yet I always knew that it was doomed to fall apart, which was a shame for such a prosperous country," he laughed. "Now it all belongs to me." He threw her back in the chair again. "I think you should call me a huge hypocrite, Akane. I want you, and the rest of the world, to have free will, but at the same time, you're all trapped in my cage." He looked to the distance, flicking his knife out again, trailing it over her bare skin, yet not once making the slightest incision. "One day, you will all understand the fear, the fear that drives everything we humans do- even murder." His knife paused at her throat. "In Western society, this is known as Thanatos, which is Greek for 'death'. And I have high hopes for you- I want the Thanatos, the spirit of death and killing, inside you to truly shine." They fell silent for a while, as the blade began to caress her neck, but no blood was spilled. He stopped and lowered the knife, and lovingly stroked her stomach. "I'm sure you'll give birth to a strong heir that'll listen to every single word his father says, and take it as gospel truth…" the razor edge was jabbing at the place where his hand at once been. "If not, I'll kill it, and get another one."

Akane couldn't stop her teeth from chattering together, and she was thankful she was sat down, since she would have collapsed from how hard her legs were trembling. A solitary tear made its way down her cheek and onto Makishima's blade. She knew that all of what he suggested would never come to fruition, but he really did have her terrified in that moment. Any moment now, Shinya would arrive and help her kill this bastard. He stood up after that, the smile never leaving, and headed to the door.

Before he opened it, he cast one more look at Akane, and the sarcasm in his tone was clear to hear. "Sleep well, my _**pure**_ princess."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Kogami walked away from the army camp, not being able to stand the cheerful chatter of Sasayama's men, too worried about Akane to join in. She'd sworn to him she would be alright, and he trusted her; what he didn't trust was Makishima. The air around him was cool and still, so he decided to sit down under a tree. "Akane," he sighed. "You're okay, aren't you?" He glanced down at his sword, imagining stabbing it into the pathetic excuse Makishima called a heart. Or maybe he could make him suffer first, which Shinya was sure he would enjoy more. Then again, saying that, he would hate if he showed that vicious side of himself to Akane- what would she think of him then?

Behind him was a quiet whistling sound, a sound he had been forced to get well acquainted too over the years. He leapt away from where he was stood just as the sword struck the space he'd once occupied. Anger boiling, he drew his own sword, and faced his attacker. He was clad in black clothes with the Makishima crest on them, so it was no mystery who had sent him. "Shit, you weren't meant to dodge that," he growled.

"But I did," Shinya retorted. "And you know full well I can crush you without even trying too hard." With lightning speed, he swung his sword at the assailant's neck, but he brought his own sword up just in time to parry the blow. Shinya was prepared for it and immediately brought the blade back around, which his opponent barely dodged. Shinya wasn't quite done, knowing that he could find out about what happened Makishima had done to Akane in the short time they'd been apart, and he could only hope it was nothing to heinous. Makishima didn't strike him as the type to do anything particularly disgusting, but Shinya knew he'd want to inflict fear and worry into Akane by whatever means possible. Whilst images of Akane flew through his mind, his enemy had already launched another attack, which sent Shinya on the defensive. However, in his attempt to avoid one sword, he failed to notice a second attacker behind him, the sword slicing his shoulder. His legs were fast enough that he could run away and back to Sasayama's camp, but he refrained from doing so, since he would reveal Sasayama's army around the back, and it was also a dishonourable thing to. He hissed at the cut, but stood firm- he'd had much worse. The first launched yet another frenzied attack whilst the second moved behind him. In an act of sheer desperation, Shinya jerked his elbow into the second's stomach and swung his sword at the first, cutting through his abdomen; he staggered back and fell to his knees, clutching his wound. To make sure he didn't get up again, Shinya sent a foot to smash right into his face, hearing a distinct snap, telling him that he had likely broken his nose. He then turned his attention to the second, and feeling slightly disappointed that this was all Makishima had sent to take him down. The poor bastard must really have been underestimating him.

Without warning, he felt a sharp pain flare on his side, and when he looked down, he saw the hilt of a throwing dagger poking out from the flesh. Fortunately, it hadn't hit any vitals, but it still hurt like a bitch. He knew that by pulling it out he was going to bleed more, so he left it in for the time being- once he made it back to Sasayama's camp in the next ten minutes or so, he'd get it treated. "Damn, you're a tough bastard," the second commented before sprinting towards Shinya, who twisted to avoid being stabbed a second time, and realised the man's target hadn't been his body, but rather the knife, and watched as it was viciously yanked out, sending a little lump of flesh and a steady stream of blood. Behind him, he registered that two more men had stepped out from the brush, and was already internally groaning. Still, he rose his sword- he was taking at least two of them down with him before he admitted defeat. With all the energy left in his body, he launched at the one standing triumphantly above him, slamming his sword through his chest, and looked on serenely as the light flickered from his eyes. What did it matter? Akane wasn't there to see him in this state, and the situation had turned desperate.

One of the newcomers grabbed onto his back, tearing at the slice on his shoulder, making him wince, and Shinya felt a bottle being shoved in his mouth, and liquid being poured down his throat that tasted so revolting he nearly vomited. When it had registered that he'd actually swallowed it, it was too late for him to do anything as his head grew fuzzy and shadows overtook his vision. The last thing he remembered was Akane's smiling face beaming down at him, but he knew that she wasn't actually there. He felt incredibly lonely as his eyelids closed.

* * *

Akane was hit by a hard slap across her face that made the one she'd been given before seem tame. "I'm talking to you, Akane," Shogo stated calmly, almost peacefully, "and it's rude to ignore me." Akane didn't make a sound, knowing that if she spoke and said the wrong thing, she'd be punished for it. "Ah, sorry, that might bruise." Shogo placed his icy hand over the sore patch on her face where he'd just smacked her, the cold soothing it a little bit. Akane leant into his palm to numb the pain, but he took it to mean she was giving up and relenting to him- as if she'd ever do that, she thought angrily to herself. "And to think I came in here to tell you some really exciting news, and you just blank me."

"What is it?" her voice came out monotonous and uninterested, which was her general mood whenever Shogo came into the room.

"There's a guest staying with us right now," he grinned devilishly at her.

"A guest?" she echoed, her voice now laced with fear as anxiety bubbled in her chest.

"Well, he's nobody special if that's what you're worried about," he began to stroke her hair and the anxiety was replaced with disgust. When he spoke, she heard the sadism in his voice clearly. "He's just a rather nasty little dog that was dragged in off the street." He leant back in his chair, visibly smug when Akane flinched. "I think you know just who our guest is, don't you?"

She glared at him in utter hatred, which pleased him for whatever reason. Gritting her teeth, she snarled at him, "If you dare touch him, I'll chop your fucking head off." She knew her threat would get her punished, but she didn't care- they both knew that she would follow through on her word. The hand on her head paused and he stared at her, his face devoid and expressionless. His fingers curled in her locks, and she scarcely had time to react before she was flung inelegantly off her chair and onto the floor. He was straddling her again, this time his hands pushing on her throat and obstructing her throat. Akane's eyes bulged and she clawed at his hands, tearing at the pale skin. Just as black spots were appearing in her vision and her eyes were rolling into her skull, his grip lessened and she sucked in as much air as she could, spluttering and coughing all the while. He stared impassively at her and gradually removed his hands.

"I told you before, didn't I?" he muttered, almost soothingly. "I don't like that pretty mouth of yours saying such ugly things."

"The truth often is," she quipped, and he smiled.

"It is, you're right," he agreed. "However, that wasn't the truth now, was it? Just a very, very bad lie." His hand cupped the cheek that he had struck earlier. "And I would appreciate honesty in this relationship, Akane." He looked away. "I'm very angry at you, you know."

"What for? Running away from you after you killed my parents?" she spat. "I can't believe why anybody would want to escape the man responsible for their family's deaths."

"What for?" his voice was below a whisper now, since he was so close to her, his breath ghosting over her skin. He lifted her left hand up and kissed one finger. "One. Running away from me, even though you belong to me." He moved onto her second, sucking on it slightly, and then her third. "Two. Kissing that hunting dog, knowing full well you were being unfaithful to me. Three. Begging for that dirty-" he bit painfully down on her finger, puncturing the skin, "-disgusting hound to fuck you." He was well and truly pissed off with her. She hadn't heard him swear before. "What was it you were saying? Asking him to _take you_ , begging him _please_ and _more_." He laughed at her expression, biting down harder so the blood trickled down her finger, where he licked it off. Akane wanted to slap him, but she could tell she was already in trouble as it was. He gradually released her hand, spots of blood smudged around his lips. "Where did he put that tongue of his, I wonder, Akane?" He moved his lips down to her neck, where he bit down, and hard, drawing blood, before licking her up her neck. Akane tried to push him off, but no matter how much strength, he just wouldn't move.

He sat up away from her, admiring the blood smeared over her neck. "I'll summon Mika to clean you up. I need you to be beautiful for me when I get back," he stood up and grinned. "I'm going to go and visit our dearest guest, Akane. Wait for me, won't you?" He left, and ordered the servant outside to go and find Mika Shimotsuki.

Akane knew that this was her chance to leave, but knew she wouldn't get very far in her kimono, which was a reflection of her status within the castle. She was the sole heir of Emperor Tsunemori, which meant one day, she would be an Empress. That meant that this was her castle, and she was in charge now; therefore, she couldn't allow Makishima to hold her prisoner here, or tell her how to act, or what to say. Nor could she allow him to touch her without her consent. Nobody - ever – could do that to her. She sat up, resolve renewed, and stalked over to the door. She peered out, and seeing nobody, made her way down to the dungeons, where Shogo had thrown Toko and Sho earlier that day. She drew her knife, and she knew that nothing could prevent her from using it. She needed to see Shinya again.

* * *

Shinya Kogami had never felt worse before- all the hangovers he'd had in his life didn't come close to the intensity of this headache, nor the nausea swirling around in his gut. He groaned, wanting to lie down, but when he realised he was being suspended by what felt like shackles. _Oh, I've gone and fucked it up,_ he thought to himself.

"It's nice to finally see you again, Shinya Kogami," a voice resounded from out of his field of vision, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who it belonged to.

"I wish I could say the same thing," Kogami managed to croak out.

"Well, I see your sense of humour hasn't gone," Makishima stepped in front of him, wielding a knife. Kogami wasn't too bothered about the knife, and his eyes saw that his wounds from the fight earlier had been patched up expertly. Makishima must want him alive, then, and knowing him, Shinya figured he was about to be tortured, which was always fun. He rolled his eyes and braced himself for the horrendous pain he was about to put in, unable to stop it.

"Stop talking, I have a headache," he sneered at the silver-haired man. However, his bravado was just hiding the fact that he really, really wasn't looking forward to the inevitable. Now that he had grown used to the lighting in the room, he could see all sorts of gruesome devices, some he could tell that had been frequently used. Probably by Makishima, and hopefully not on Akane.

"It's alright, I shan't be talking for very long," Makishima smiled. "As a respectable ruler, I have to punish those who commit sins, don't you agree?" He stood taller than the kneeling Shinya, glaring down at him. "Do you know what your sins are?" Shinya remained silent, really wishing he would get it over and done with, but again, Makishima didn't strike him as the type- he was one who savoured and loved any sort of pain with a passion. "One- snatching my Akane from me and holding her hostage," he held out a finger, and then raised a second, "Two- stealing my Akane's first kiss away from her. Such a thing should be reserved for one's significant other." He raised a third finger, and Kogami already knew what the third object would be. "Three- _corrupting_ my Akane." He approached the samurai and punched him in the gut, winding him, but Shogo ignored Shinya's struggled pants for air. "Or rather, _fucking_ my Akane, knowing that she belongs to me."

"'Your' Akane?" Kogami smiled ironically at the term. "She belongs to you? Don't be stupid."

"So what then, she belongs to you?" Makishima vanished out of Kogami's eyesight.

"She belongs _with_ me, but not _to_ me," Shinya smiled. He was going to regret winding him up in several minutes time, but it would be worth it. "You think she's just a possession? That'll come and bite you in the ass eventually." It ended up being him who felt the burn as there was a horrible snapping sound, and he felt something impossibly fast zoom down his back and split in the skin. "A whip?" Shinya strained to keep the pain out of his voice. "That's original."

"Oh, it's only the beginning, dog," Makishima promised him. "I'll make sure you regret ever daring to touch my Akane."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Sho heard footsteps approaching his cell, and curled up into a small ball, mentally scolding himself: _Silly, silly Sho! You should have taken over your father's business! If you had, you'd be in your bed at home right now, with a hot cup of milk!_ Then he shook his head furiously, his curls bouncing. _Bad, bad Sho! If you had taken over your father's business, you would have never met big sis and have fun with all your friends or live in the palace! I like being a samurai! It's fun, and everyone respects me!_ Still, he shook like a new-born kitten on the dank floor of his cell. He had been anxious since he had first been locked in here- he was afraid of the dark, and always had a candle burning in his room, to keep the ghosts and monsters away. What if the footsteps he was hearing weren't human ones? What if it was the ghost of Tsunemori palace, like in the stories Shusei always told him about? He clamped his hands over his ears and tried to ignore it.

"Hinakawa…" a voice called. Oh! The ghost knew his name! Kagari always said that if a ghost knew your name, you were destined for death! There it was, calling for him. He could just picture it as he scrunched his eyes up; pale, ghostly fingers extending for him through the bars, a face devoid of eyeballs and a bloodied mouth staring at him.

"No…" he whined.

"Hinakawa!" it repeated again, in a less terrifying voice. Trembling, Sho dared peek through his fringe, trying to be brave like his big brothers and sisters. Right now, Princess Akane was probably facing things worse than ghosts, and they were completely real. When he saw the ghastly spectre he had been so scared of, his face split into a happy smile as he crawled towards the bars. There was no ghost there, but rather, his big sister!

"Nee-nee!" he called happily. "Nee-nee, are you okay?" Akane pressed a finger to her lips, indicating for him to be quiet, and Sho copied her action, a little childishly. "Nee-nee… wha-what are you wearing?"

Akane giggled at his question. "I had to jump a serving girl. I apologised, though, so don't look so sad. I kind of had to lock her in a cupboard…" she rubbed her head sheepishly. "What do you think?"

"Y-You are pretty!" Sho stammered.

"Thank you, Hinakawa," Akane shook her head softly at their exchange, before holding up a key. "Shall we get you out of here?" Sho nodded eagerly, desperately wanting to be free of the horrible cell that was making him fear things that didn't even exist. Once Akane had unlocked the door, he crawled, thanking her as many times as he could.

"N-Nee-nee… my th-thi-things are over there," he pointed to a little cupboard on the wall. "If I-I-I have my sword with me, I can protect you!" Akane smiled and revealed a blade of her own, a thing she'd recovered from her private training room. By now, she was sure Mika had gone to inform Makishima that she had disappeared. "Oh…! Your neck…!"

"It's nothing, Hinakawa, really," she assured him. "Where's Toko-san?" Sho pointed two cells down, and Akane walked briskly to where Toko was peacefully sleeping in a corner of her cell. It was good she dealt with things, Akane thought to herself as she stirred the teenager, and explained the situation. "You two, listen, I need you to do something for me." Both listened intently; Toko was a bit groggy eyed, but she was listening. "Hinakawa, you need to escape the castle immediately and head to where Sasayama is situated. I'd suggest leaving through the kitchen door- it's nearest, and if anyone sees you, you can say you've been assigned to kitchen duties as punishment. When you get to Sasayama, I want you to tell him that the launch has to be now, or as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Toko, I want you to open as many doors and gates as you can- that way, the army will be able to get in quicker. Can you do that for me?" Both nodded.

"Akane-san, what about you? What are you going to do? Are you leaving with Sho-kun?" Toko questioned her.

"No. Makishima told me that Kogami's here," she admitted. "If he's found out about my absence already, then it's likely he's taking his anger out on Kogami. He promised me as such." Her grip tightened around the hilt, her mind running wild with the possibilities of what Makishima could have done to Kogami in the time he'd left her.

"Th-That's dangerous, Nee-nee!" Hinakawa protested, but Akane simply shook her head, and he understood. "Alright. But you better be okay when I come back! Or- Or I'll- I'll… beat you up!" Akane giggled at his threat.

"It's okay, Hinakawa. I'll see you both soon," she was tempted to kiss them on the forehead, but she knew that time was of the essence. The trio ran up the stairs before parting their different ways; Akane took a second to look at their retreating backs, before frowning as she gripped her sword harder. With a slight sinking feeling in her chest, her mind jumped back and forth to where Makishima could be holding Kogami. There was one room in the entire palace that she could think of, and it didn't particularly bode well for Shinya, if that was the case. It was the room Akane had been forbidden from going in by her father, saying that she would never had any reason to enter. However, as a curious child, she and Kagari had gone exploring, and they'd both the paid the price for it. Or at the least, Kagari had. Akane shuddered at the gruesome memory, and pressed on. She was just a serving girl right now, hurrying on her way. The one she'd jumped had cropped dark locks as well, but her eyes were blue, where Akane's were brown. If Akane looked at the floor as she walked, nobody would notice. However, there was always the sword she was carrying that stuck out like a sore thumb _. Ah, well_ , she thought to herself. _Whatever happens, happens_.

She made sure to avoid anyone who would recognise her right away- namely, Mika and Togane- as she scurried deeper and deeper into the castle's depth. The room was far beneath the dungeon's level, and twice as chilly. Akane decided that once she'd ousted Makishima, all the servants would be given two uniforms, one for the cold and one for the heat- this material was much too thin and did little to shield her from the icy blast. She became absolutely certain she'd unveiled Kogami's location as she got closer and heard grunts of pain and the occasional loud cuss. Between each was a horrible snapping sound, and she knew just what was going on. The door was still open, and she peeked round quickly before retracting to ensure Makishima really was distracted. He had his back to the open door, so she took it as a yes. She stared at the sword in her hand- was it really her place to kill him? Killing seemed wrong, no matter the circumstances behind it.

She cast her eyes around the dank hall and her eyes settled on a rather hefty looking metal bar which was probably used to seal the door before Makishima threw them wide open. As quietly as she could, she placed the sword down and replaced it with the slab. If she had to listen to Makishima's bursts of laughter at Kogami's agony any longer, she really would go insane. She didn't have any time to lose, and she only had one chance to hit Makishima. She had a clear advantage, she thought to herself, trying to calm herself. If her hands were shaking, she couldn't be as accurate.

With a howl of fury, she burst through the doors and swung her makeshift weapon around. Just as Makishima turned around to see the intruder, the cold metal connected with the side of his head, sending him sprawling on the floor. Akane stayed like that for a few moments, the bar raised above her head in case she had to swing it down again, but she had no need to. Makishima stayed frozen on the floor, but his chest rose and fell steadily. She hadn't killed him, which was good.

Before she could lower it again though, a quiet voice next to her grunted: "Kill him." Akane looked warily at Kogami who had mumbled the order, not believing it was really him. "Kill him." Akane cast her eyes down at the hapless man, who couldn't lift a finger to harm her or anyone, or even defend himself. His hand was still loosely holding onto a bloodied whip, and judging by the state of Kogami's back, it was likely his blood that was smeared on it. Akane felt like being sick. _Kill him_.

 _Maybe I should. That way he can't hurt anyone, and he can pay for his crimes, but…_ she thought sadly to herself, before shaking her head. "I can't," she whispered apologetically. "I can't." Maybe she had disappointed Kogami. If that was the case, she would have to deal with it. She would be sad, and it would hurt, but she would not become a murderer; it would go against everything she believed. "Nothing gives me the right to decide when people die." Kogami remained silent as she tried to undo the shackles whilst not looking at his back. Painful scars striped across the skin, bleeding steadily. When Kogami slid to the ground with a groan once they were undone, Akane wasted no time in ripping the long skirts of the servant's skirt to make bandages for Kogami, but they were soaked through instantly, and Akane thought she was going to start sobbing again. "I'm sorry, Kogami." She whimpered as a few stray tears leaked out. "I really am sorry!"

She felt a weight on the top of her head, and saw that Kogami had extended his arm up just to stroke her hair, in that comforting way he always did. "Don't… apologise," he managed to croak out. "I should be the one who's apologising." He closed his eyes, scrunching them up in agony.

"Are you alright?" Akane's worried face peered down at him.

"Heh. I'll live." He sat up painfully. "I could say I've had worse, but not really- I've never had an opponent that could land so many hits on me before. Could you… get my yukata for me?" Akane nodded and ran over, before helping him put in on, not wanting him to re-open any wounds that had started to heal. "Thanks." He glowered at the inanimate form of Shogo Makishima. "What should we do with this bastard?"

"We'll seal him in here for now," Akane spoke confidently and calmly. "The thing I'm hitting him with was meant to bar the doors shut on either side, so we'll do it from the outside." She helped Kogami stagger to his feet, and dragged the bar along the floor, unused to carrying so much weight. Kogami leant against the wall as she slid the bar through the handles. Akane picked up her sword, knowing that in his current state, Kogami was in no way ready for any heavy duty fighting until Shion had tended to his wounds properly. "Can you stand on your own? If we're attacked, I can't support you. Sorry."

"I can walk," he replied. "Let's just get you to safety." His voice seemed breathless and it was then she noticed the slices on his face. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sor-" she began, feeling guiltier than she ever had been before.

"Akane." His voice seemed stronger now, but still sad. "You probably just saved my life. He was getting too over-excited, so he probably would have killed me." He cast an eye at the door before grinning. "Also, nice aim."

The fighting had already broken out by the time they reached the main floor, and the only sounds to be heard were ones of anger or agony accompanied by the clanging of hundreds of swords. "We'll get you back to the camp. There'll be somebody who can help you there!" Akane whispered quickly into Shinya's ear. Slowly, they limped around to the deserted kitchens, but Shinya stopped suddenly, before tackling Akane to the floor behind a table. "Kogami! What are you doing?!" she snapped, but her eyes widened as she saw a throwing knife sail over where they'd been. "What was that?" She peered over the edge of their cover and saw Sakuya Togane, a malevolent grin spread on his face.

"I was given some rather strict instructions to not let you escape, Princess."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Akane brought the sword up in front of her, in a defensive stance; she almost failed to notice Kogami's worried glance. Togane smiled, and sniggered, "Damn, he was right about you- you really are a lot of trouble." He drew his own sword, and Akane noted that he had a slight disadvantage- his arm was in a bad shape since Makishima had punished him for. If she struck there, she would definitely have an advantage. She said nothing about Togane's jaunt and furrowed her eyebrows. Next to her, Kogami pulled the dagger out the wood, so both of them were armed.

"Kogami!" Akane barked over. "I'll deal with this!"

"No, I can't-" he protested, but Akane immediately blew away any argument he had.

"This is no time for chivalry!" she snapped back. "You're at a disadvantage- Togane-san doesn't want either of his opponents to have an advantage." Her eyes flitted back to the wounded Togane- the only warrior in this battlefield who didn't have any sort of handicap was her, but the men would argue that she was a woman, and that was a disadvantage, but Akane knew better. She could win, and her gender didn't even come into her consideration. She had trained for a fight like this- she always said she one day wanted to accompany Kogami on his journeys, and therefore they would be attacked more and more, by worse people than Togane, commander of Makishima's army. She looked him in the eye, knowing her next move.

Barely giving Togane chance to raise his own sword- she could tell that he thought Akane was bluffing (What an idiot!)- she jabbed his arm, slicing through the bandages that were already bloodied. She could tell she'd caused substantial damage from his gruff exclamation of pain, and she immediately knew he would bring a blow down on her, so jumped back, avoiding said attack. She was ignoring Kogami for the time being, who was trying to stagger to his feet, but it seemed that throwing himself on the floor in such a hurried way hadn't done his wounds much good. Togane, surprisingly lithe, sprung towards her, but her own blade blocked it. However, she didn't fail to notice that he had much more physical strength then her, so diverted the strike away from her body so it clashed to the floor. They continued like that, parrying viciously across the room, barely evading each other's attacks, and both sides failing to get a decent hit on the other. Finally, he lunged, almost desperately at her, but she flung herself out the way in time, rolling behind him before bring up her sword again; he responded by twisting around and running towards her, and she sprung forward as well, watching as the blade slid almost slowly by her cheek, scarcely missing her. Kogami yelled out in fear that she'd been hurt, but quietened when she hit Togane's side with the hilt of her blade, but it did little to deter the frenzy of stabs that she'd forced herself to parry. Maybe she had underestimated Togane, just a little bit, whereas he hadn't underestimated her. Eventually, she found an opening and leapt behind him, spinning around in a perfect arc so her weapon connected with his shoulder, slicing it rather nastily. She winced a bit, and felt like apologising, until she remembered just who he was. While he was distracted, she jabbed her knee upwards; that was the final blow, the insult to injury as he dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. Never breaking eye contact with Togane, she kicked the sword over to Kogami, who reached for it and used it more like a walking stick than a deadly weapon. She smiled at the thought of an old age Kogami, but it slowly fell off her face as the man approached.

"Princess." She stiffened at him using her official title, but it also meant that this was serious business. She understood. She wouldn't be 'Princess' to him forever. "Do you wish for me to kill him? I will only do so upon your command."

"No, Kogami-san," she replied, firmly. "Do not."

"Then what is your verdict?" Before she'd even had chance to respond to his question, the door crashed open, and whether the arrival was friend or foe was unknown to her, so she raised her sword, her eyes glinting down at Togane in warning, that if he did try anything, she would go against her word to not kill him. She relaxed when she realised the identity of the newcomer.

"Ginoza!" the duo breathed out in relief. Akane chuckled when she saw the older man had put his hair in a ponytail to keep from his face- he did need a haircut, she noted- but her serious demeanour returned when she saw his face. He looked incredibly worried.

"Idiots." He spoke one word, but she could tell all had been forgiven. "Kogami, did you really have to injure him that gravely?"

"It wasn't me," Kogami smiled furtively at the slightly sweating Akane, who grinned back.

"Wait. What?" Ginoza looked flabbergasted. "R-right. Princess… you did that?"

"I did."

"Well!" Ginoza pressed a hand to the bridge of his nose. "Well, I guess I can say you've impressed me." Akane allowed herself a small giggle, and saw the corners of Kogami's mouth lift up in an even tinier smile, before stepping back into Princess Tsunemori's shoes.

"Ginoza-san!" Ginoza snapped to attention at her tone. "Take Sakuya Togane down into the dungeons. Ensure he does not escape, under any circumstances. He, alongside his master, has committed several crimes against the crown and country, acts that may be considered treason. However, I am willing to give him a chance. Put him in the prisons, where he will await trial."

"Understood." Ginoza pulled Togane to his feet, keeping him in line with the mean edge of his own sword. "And you, Princess? What is your next course of action?"

"I will head to the camp with Kogami and see to it his wounds are treated properly. Then I will return here, and bring Makishima to justice." Her voice was set, and she could sense Kogami falter next to her.

"No! Absolutely not!" Kogami snapped. "We don't have to go the camp. We were going to the camp for you! Not for me!" He stood up a little straighter than he had been a few moments ago. "I'm fine. Let's put an end to this bloodshed already."

The door was flung open again, this time by a very flustered Hinakawa. The poor kid had been running around all day, Akane thought sadly to herself. "Nee-nee!" he yelled. "Ma-Maki-shima! He-He-He's k-killing everybody!"

"But we left him in the cell-" Akane paused for a moment, before rolling her eyes. "Mika." It was the only explanation she could think of right now. Mika had obviously noticed Akane's absence and gone down to the basement to tell Makishima, but found him stuck inside. Damn, she'd hoped he'd be down for longer than that. "Oh, seriously. This is getting stupid."

"Yeah, because you won't know your place!" Togane spat, like a rabid dog. "Stupid bitches like you are meant to listen to what their betrothed says!" Akane had only cast a glance at Ginoza before he deftly threw Togane down on the ground and kicked him swiftly across the face. Togane spat out several other cusses, each greeted with Ginoza's foot slamming into some part of his body until he was silenced.

"You're the one being stupid," Ginoza told him. "You're right, this is for Akane's sake, but it's also for the sake of her country, and its future. Like we'd ever hand it to your leader." Akane felt a sense of pride blooming in her heart- it had been the first time Ginoza had used her first name without apologising for it. He really did have her back.

"Akane," a quiet voice beside her ear reminded her of Kogami's presence. "What should we do?" She found herself leaning in slightly, as if to get that bit closer to Shinya.

"We have to stop Makishima," she spoke flatly. "By any means. Whether we imprison him is another matter. Exile won't work either. He'll just come back." She felt her eyebrows curve into a frown. "So no matter which angle you look at it, Makishima is a dead man walking. It may be more of a mercy to kill him now."

"I'll do it." Kogami sounded furious. "I won't have you taking another life. Because that goes against everything you stand for- and when it gets down to it, you wouldn't. You had chance in that cellar, and you didn't. You're not a killer, Akane." He petted her head. "You weren't made by the gods to hurt others. By now, I'm completely convinced that you're an angel, and they sent you to heal and help the world." Akane stared at him in the eyes, and they stayed like that for a while, just comforted by the fact they had each other.

"U-Uh… Onee…" Sho broke the silence. Akane nodded to Kogami.

"Hinakawa!" Akane barked, making the poor boy jump out of his skin. "Your new orders are to locate Mika Shimotsuki and take her to the dungeons. Keep her away from Togane when you do."

"Yes ma'am!" he did a short little bow.

"Where is Makishima right now?" Shinya asked the shaking Sho.

"He's in the throne room. Well, he was. When I left. It's just him. By himself. On the throne." Sho's sentences were hurried and fragmented, stammering at the taller man. He bowed again. "I'll do what you asked, Nee-nee!" He scurried quickly out the room, followed by an incredibly irritated Nobuchika Ginoza, dragging an equally annoyed Sakuya Togane behind him.

"Alright then." Akane whispered. "Shall we, Shinya?"

"Yeah," he nodded stiffly, and the two exited the room, but running the opposite way to the two samurai. They dodged the mini fights that had broken out among the combined Tsunemori and Sasayama forces against Makishima's, and Akane noticed, feeling like a proud mother, that the ones fighting on the same team as her and Kogami were winning more often than they were losing. Gradually, the couple found themselves facing the large impassive doors to the throne room. Almost instinctively, their hands reached for each other for a reassuring squeeze, as if to say: _it's okay, I'm here- nothing bad will happen to us._

Together, they flung the door open, to find Makishima where Sho had said he would be. There was no need for words, but Akane expected that Shogo had some for the pair of them, whether they'd want to hear them or not. He clapped, as if cheering them. "I'm amazed Togane didn't kill you, I truly am," he called out to them. "But at the same time, I'm very glad you're both alive. Otherwise, I would have been extremely bored. And soon, I'm to feel quite bored again, especially concerning you, Shinya Kogami. You won't be there to cause me anger." He focused on Akane. "Saying that, I'll have you to fill up my time."

"Like hell you will!" Akane growled, a small fire burning in her eyes that would make even Shinya Kogami himself buckle from it. Instead, Kogami grinned. "But I'm kind enough to not allow you to be bored in your final moments."

"That's it, Akane!" Shogo was almost laughing. "That's it! That's it! There's that little killing spirit I always knew you had!" Akane and Kogami exchanged a glance, and knew. _Yes, now was the time_.

Without a single warning, both streaked towards the self-proclaimed king, who used both hands on his blade to block an otherwise devastating blow from Kogami, pushing the samurai back, but Akane leapt in and swung her rapier across his cheek, slicing through the skin. She had been aiming for the neck, but in her hurry she'd missed her target. Kogami then parried Makishima's attack to the left before kicking him in the stomach, but that had very little effect on Shogo who stood up immediately and brought Kogami in close to his own body, before jabbing him quickly in the stomach and face, forcing him back. Akane ran up behind Makishima, targeting his side this time, but Makishima deftly parried her and she sailed past him, leaving her back open. She felt something incredibly cold slice across her back, through her yukata, but she knew the cut he'd made wasn't deep. Kogami lunged with a roar of anger at Makishima, and the two parried for several seconds. Akane recovered her strength and joined the fray, knocking Makishima's sword back for Kogami to land a hit on him, but Shogo jerked his arm up and hit her in the side of the head, and though it didn't completely knock her down, it had spots swimming through her vision for longer than she'd liked. This drove Kogami's fury, who forced Makishima to run away from Akane to avoid furious swipe after swipe of his blade. While Makishima and Kogami parried again, Akane waited for an ample opportunity to arrive, hoping for a chance where she could easily strike Makishima, who seemed to be using Kogami as a shield from her. _Dammit._ She saw it, and as agilely as a cat, she stuck, slicing through the arm, inflicting a wound deeper than the one she'd given Togane. The blood shot out briefly before settling into a steady trickle. Shogo glowered at Akane, kicking Kogami away. His sword lifted up and with perfect aim, it shot towards her.

There was a horrible noise of a sword puncturing flesh, and a disgusting amount of blood flowing down her front. There was Shogo Makishima, smile frozen on his face, like he had won. There was a sword in a chets. And yet, it wasn't as painful as Akane thought it would be.

Because Shinya Kogami's sword was currently lodged all the way through Shogo Makishima's chest, and that smile Akane had grown to detest was plastered eternally on his face.

Kogami pushed the body away from him and fell to his knees, crushing Akane in his arms, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw him crying. Of course, there was no way Kogami- big, strong, tough Kogami could be crying. "Hey, Akane," he said. "You can hear me, can't you? You can see me, can't you?"

Akane didn't understand why he was asking such strange questions. And that's when she felt it.

With an agonizing scream, she finally felt the cold burn of Shogo Makishima's sword through her side.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"You're moping out here again?" Nobuchika Ginoza's voice was the only thing disrupting the otherwise silent and peaceful night. Shinya didn't even deem to answer and kept his grey eyes away from his lifelong best friend, as silent as the night itself. A few moments later, he heard Ginoza sigh, and half expected him to turn around and go back inside the palace, which had just recently got back on its feet again. Ginoza had taken over the general running and relief effort, and he had managed to pull things together just within a few days. Shinya would have congratulated him, maybe even had a laugh at Gino's expense, but he wasn't in the mood for any sort of joy. To his slight surprise, Ginoza came and sat next to him, holding a cup of water. "Drink this. Stay hydrated." Shinya accepted the cup mutely, but didn't take a single sip. "If you're not going to drink it, I will pour it down your neck." Kogami chugged the water before dropping the cup. "That's it for you then? You're just going to sit here, feel miserable, and drink the palaces's remaining alcohol supply."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"No, no, it doesn't," Ginoza's voice had lost that soft edge in it, which meant he was well and truly done with Shinya's current behaviour. "You know it's not just you that feels guilty!" Shinya said nothing, knowing he was right- everyone else must be feeling terrible as well. "If you just feel that terrible, why don't you just go and see her?"

"I don't think she wants to see my face." Shinya looked away. "Fucking hell, Gino, I was meant to look after her- and look where that got her!" He tamped down his anger again. "I don't deserve to be called a warrior, and I never deserved her either. She deserved a lot more than me."

"She doesn't seem to think so," Ginoza disagreed with the bruised samurai. "I think you did her proud in the battle. You stopped Makishima, didn't you? He's dead- you did something for her, didn't you? She's proud of you!"

"Well, she shouldn't be. She should hate me. Maybe its best if I took off-" he was silenced by an incredibly hard and fast punch to his jaw that sent him flying. Sitting up and rubbing his jaw, he glared at his friend. "You should help people with their grief, you know that?"

"If you take off, I will come and get you and drag you back, kicking and screaming, I don't care." Ginoza sounded dangerous. "And she'd do the same, you know that. Besides, this place needs an interim ruler, and she'd name you anyway."

"I would be a complete and utter disgrace. It should be you- you've been getting things together and sorting this place out, and I've been here, staring into space and drinking endless bottles of sake."

"How many have you had today?"

"One."

"One?"

"One barrel."

"Huh, that's quite low for you."

"I couldn't find anymore."

"That would explain it. Well, you're not completely off your face, so I suppose as your 'interim ruler' as you say, I order you to go and get cleaned up and your wounds attended to before you start stinking and get an infection."

"I'm okay."

"It's an order."

"What if I'm going rogue?" He challenged. Ginoza sighed, and went back inside, and Shinya expected him to have given up. Not two minutes later, he returned, accompanied by Yayoi and Kagari, who easily lifted him up over their heads and dragged him to the bathroom, where it seemed a bath had already been run for him. Without a shred of embarrassment, Kunizuka silently stripped him off and threw him into the bath. The three of them left without a word to him, but a few minutes later a servant scurried in and washed him- it seemed Ginoza didn't trust him enough to properly wash over stewing in the bath for an hour or so. Sighing, Shinya realised he was probably right. When he was finally dressed in new clothes, which were a dark blue colour, he found Ginoza waiting outside for him, nose buried in a book.

"Took you long enough." He scowled. "Hurry up. Were going to go see her. I already have, actually. So it would be more correct say YOU'RE going to visit her."

"I'll be sent out in two minutes," he replied flatly.

"Now do you seriously believe Akane is the sort of person to hold grudges? Especially to one she loves as much as she does you? Really?" Ginoza challenged. "If so, I think you've completely misjudged her. I know you love her too, Kogami. Don't even try to hide it."

"I probably will for the rest of my life."

"Good." Ginoza smiled, before it quickly dropped off his face. "I knew the two of you were rather... Intimate, as I understand it."

"Yeah we kissed a couple times-" Shinya began, thinking that's what Ginoza, the famed 1000% virgin meant by 'intimate'.

"Right. Kissed." Gino continued. It wasn't like him to joke, but the samurai was trying to cheer up his closest friend. "Among other things."

"What do you mean by that?" Shinya asked as they approached the door.

"Well, to put it bluntly..." Ginoza trailed off. "You guys are fucking loud." Shinya spluttered and coughed to cover up his laughter. "Well, here we are. And if you don't get in there in 5 seconds, I will kick you in."

"I don't doubt it." Shinya replied before pushing the door open, and silently closing it behind him. He didn't show what he was feeling on his face, and as always, got down on one knee and kissed her hand. "Hello." He whispered, but it fell on deaf ears.

Akane was paler than he'd ever seen her, and she was pale to begin with. Shinya felt his own blood drain out of his face at the sight. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing seemed somewhat ragged. Perspiration laid in a thin sheen on her skin and she was hotter than what was healthy. A fever. She'd kicked the cover off her, probably because she was too warm, but inadvertently revealed her wound to Kogami. The bandages were bloody, but not soaking- Shion had been right when she said she'd managed to stop the bleeding after an extremely long hour. Kogami made a mental note to tell Shion to change the bandaging once he'd left. She was also in quite a deep sleep. No wonder; she was mentally and physically exhausted. Just by looking at her, he could see how weak she was. It seemed that each breath she took tired her out even more, but again, according to Shion, the danger had passed.

Gently, oh so gently, he raised the sheet over her body again, just to have it kicked off an instant later. The movement made him smile, but it was replaced with his usual glum expression a minute later. He put the sheet back on stubbornly, and held it in place when he sat down on the bed next to her. She moaned in sleepy protest and began to twist and escape the heat. Shinya held her hand and tried to calm her down- if she twisted too much she could open the wound again, which would lead to another stressful hour with Shion. At the contact, her hand tightened- if one could even call it that- and her eyes groggily opened.

"Shinya." She croaked, and despite how awful she felt, her mouth twitched in a smile. "Water please." Shinya complied mutely and poured her a glass. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her struggling to sit up, so he placed the full glass down and helped her sit up, careful of her injury. When it seemed she was too weak to even hold her cup for an extended amount of time, he helped her drink it. "Thanks." Her voice didn't sound as raspy anymore, which Kogami took as a good sign. "Could you carry me to the baths? I'm kind of sweaty."

"You're too weak. If I took you, Shion would screech at me." He smiled softly. "But I could give you a sponge bath." She went bright red at that, but he waved her down. "What? We've done more personal things." Akane made a raspy noise which could have been a laugh before allowing Shinya to bring a tub of water and cloth to dab her down. She really was warm, Shinya sighed, before deciding to say what he wanted to say. He wrung the cloth out and returned the tub before speaking. Akane had laid down on the mattress again. "Akane." He looked away. "I'm really sorry. No, I'm more than sorry. If you wanted me to get out, I would understand. If you never wanted to see me again, I would understand. I'm sorry."

"What? You're leaving?" She sounded panicked, and shoved herself up. She threw her arms around him and clung on, as hard as she could manage in her current state. "No! No! Don't leave me!" She broke off into a painful coughing fit. "Please don't." She whispered hoarsely. "I just want to be with you." She released him, but held onto his hand all the same.

"Idiot," he laughed. "I'd only leave if you wanted me to, and I'm going to guess that you don't, if your reaction's anything to go by." He looked away from her. "I want to stay with you, too. For as long as I can, if that's okay with you."

"I want to stay with you forever," she confessed before lying down again, feeling quite dizzy. "Would you?"

"I would." He replied without wasting a single heartbeat. "Akane." She smiled when he said her name. "And if it's okay with you, then..." He broke off. Wow, he thought to himself. You've killed a man for this woman, and you're now getting embarrassed?

"Then?" She prompted.

He took a deep breath. He was not about to fall short at the last hurdle. "Would you..." He swallowed. "Would you-" Akane thought nervous Shinya was kind of cute, but she didn't say that out loud. She would tell him later, though. "Would you marry me?" His face was bright red, which was an odd expression to ever be on Shinya Kogami's face, who was normally quite placid and calm.

Look at you! You killed a man- provided, he was just a terrible human being- without so much batting an eyelid, and you're getting all hot and bothered now? You are as smooth as sake, Shinya Kogami. As smooth as sake with ground glass hidden in it.

Akane's face split into a happy smile. "Of course I will, Shinya. I've never wished for anything more."

* * *

Akane Tsunemori sat alone in her rooms, where she usually dealt with matters of the land, brought to her by its citizens. The window was open, allowing a slight breeze to cool the back of her neck on such a sweltering day. It had taken a week for her fever to subside and a month or so for her wound to heal. There was still a strange looking scar there, but Shion promised it would eventually fade, but never disappear. Since she wasn't particularly busy now, since she'd passed all the laws and implemented the justice system she had planned to do, so there had been an overall sense of peace.

The only disruption she could recall recently was sending Sakuya Togane and Mika Shimotsuki to Sasayama, where she'd learned the former had become a labourer, endless hours of ploughing fields where Sasayama sent him, and Mika had become a handmaiden to Toko, who was now living with Sasayama full time. Akane didn't mind- she didn't have a need of handmaidens, but if she did need assistance, Shion or Yayoi would step up.

Happily she gazed at her left hand, looking at the ring she now wore there- Shinya had vanished two weeks after his proposal and returned with it, a thin band with a rose pattern twisting around it. Behind his back, she then charged the most skilled jeweller in the kingdom with making her ring for Shinya, and since their wedding day, he hadn't taken it off.

 _(Unbeknownst to Akane, Ginoza was still laughing at the pair of them, especially his dumbass best friend. "Going in expecting exile, and coming out with a wife!")_

The memories made on that day in Sasayama's safe house never had to be forgotten, and each time he was just as attentive and careful as always, and even when she didn't feel like it, he simply sat up and read books to her, and at one point they even had a pillow fight, feathers flying everywhere, and getting stuck in Shinya's hair. For tradition's sake, Akane was still known as Tsunemori to the public, but in private, Akane Kogami. She couldn't get used to it, but she liked the way it sounded. No. She didn't like it. She loved it. Her heir would take on Tsunemori, but any others, if any, would take Kogami. And she supposed it wouldn't be so bad if the Tsunemori line turned into the Kogami line.

Shinya had vanished again, as had Ginoza and Kagari, to explore another land they had found, but he left with promises to return before their first anniversary. For once in her life, Akane was finally getting the peaceful and quiet party she'd wished for, but if others wanted to celebrate too, she was in no position to stop them.

A quiet rap on her door snapped her out of her reverie. "Come in!" She stood hastily to her feet, I think she'd been advised not to do, and momentarily felt dizzy, leaning on the table for support.

"It's me, O..." Sho's stammer had been improving, with encouragement from Akane, his beloved big sister. "Onee-nee!" He rushed to her side, trying to support her, unsure of what to do and evidently confused. She waved him down and say carefully in her seat.

"Sorry, Sho-kun," she giggled. "I didn't mean to worry you. Calm down, I'm fine. I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." She held out her pinky, and he hooked it in his own.

"Pinky promise," he repeated. "Onee never breaks promises, so you're really okay." He straightened, remembering the purpose of his visit. "Aah! I forgot to tell you! Onii-nii came back!"

"Which Onii-nii?" Akane joked.

"All of them," he replied honestly, with too much innocence. "I'll send Koga-nii up right away!"

"Yes please," she nodded and watched him sprint away. She leant back on her chair and waited, closing her eyes. When she opened them two minutes later, he entered, his gloomy expression turning into one of blissful joy.

As always, he knelt in front of her and brought her soft hand to his lips, where he would always whisper, "Hello." He straightened up and kissed her properly. The kiss was like that of a drowning man's first breath of air after escaping a lonely sea. "I've missed the both of you."

"And we've missed you more." Akane joked, before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him again. The sky outside was quickly darkening, and it was roughly time for dinner. Akane usually went and got changed before the meal, but Shinya scooped her up into his arms, bridal-style, cuddling her as close as he could. She leant her head on his chest, shifting closer to his warmth.

"I have lots of stories to tell you this time, and you'll have to listen to my official report, I'm afraid," Shinya laughed as he kicked the door open. "Duty calls, Empress Akane!"

"That's so weird," she wrinkled her nose. "Princess was bad enough. I think 'Akane' will do." That made Shinya laugh again, and kiss her forehead. They were interrupted by retching noises, which were made by Kagari at the other end of the corridor, making the two of them roll their eyes in derision at the young samurai, who sloped off. Shinya carried Akane down to the dining room.

It had only been laid for two, and Akane was grateful for a quiet evening alone with Shinya. After the battle, she had found herself appreciating peace and serenity more. When she sat down, Kogami handed Akane a small box, and she knew it was a present from that foreign land. With curiosity, she opened it up- this time, there was no Makishima to tarnish how precious they were to her. The lid opening revealed a closed paper fan, which she carefully opened. The fan itself was white, but the images painted on it told the story they'd created in the last year. Akane noticed that Shinya had left out the most intimate parts. "Hand painted. I told the guy who made it the abridged version. I thought you'd like it."

"That's us defeating the demon there?" Akane couldn't keep the smile out of her voice. "I like it. And..." Her eyes fell on the last picture, and tapped it.

"That's the three of us." Shinya informed her. "Since I have no idea what they look like, or what they will look like, I sort of had to make it up."

Akane giggled at that. "Close enough." She shrugged. "It's beautiful, Shinya."

"And it's paper..." He hinted. "You're meant to get your spouse a paper gift on the first anniversary. And that's just your pre-present."

Akane had already gotten Shinya's gifts. She and Toko (during her rare visits nowadays) had spent three hours folding 365 pieces of paper to form mini cranes, which they'd placed in a rather large box. On each little crane was something Akane had written about why she loved Shinya, happy memories and wishes for the future. The anniversary wasn't for another two weeks, but she couldn't wait. She hoped he liked it, and she had the feeling he would. When she'd told Shion (and inadvertently, Masaoka) about it, they'd both encouraged her. Masaoka had been the most encouraging when she'd told them all she was pregnant, giving her tips on how to deal with back pain ("My Sae always found tea helps with any pains!" "A hot bath helps with cramps too!" "Ko, you'd better look after her or I'll throw you out the window!")

Shinya himself had been utterly ecstatic at her announcement, before saying that if she didn't want it, they would go and find a doctor. Akane had shook her head and said that she DID want it, he had brought her into his arms and cuddled her until she nodded off. Yayoi had been giving the Empress hot water bottles every day, despite the heat, or fetching her cold drinks, or supplying her with whatever food she desired. The bump was barely noticeable under Akane's yukata, but it was there all the same.

That night, after another rather heated night, the two laid side-by-side, panting slightly, but sleep was far away. "Hey, Akane." Shinya called softly, his hand clutching hers. "I think we've finally found the peaceful life we always wanted."

"Yeah," she agreed, putting her head on his chest. "Can we stay like this forever, please?"

"Of course we will, Akane. I've never wished for anything more."

* * *

 _"Shuya-kun!" Nobuchika Ginoza found himself yelling, hands cupped around his mouth. "Shuya-kun!" He sighed. Shinya and Shuya had argued earlier this morning, since the energetic boy had accidentally ran into his mother, and Akane had nearly fallen over. Fortunately, Shinya had caught the Empress, who was in the late stages of her second pregnancy. Shuya cried, as most six-year-olds would when scolded, and also ran off and hid._

 _When he hadn't returned an hour later, he and the rest of Akane's- and now Shuya's- bodyguards had to go on a child hunt. Ginoza, as Shuya's godfather and confidante, knew where to find the boy, but he knew the prince wouldn't want anyone else to find him. He entered the little side building, and found the prince curled up behind a barrel. Said prince glanced up in fear, thinking it was his father, but relaxed at the sight of 'Uncle Gino'._

 _"What's the matter, Shuya-kun?" Ginoza crouched next to the boy in his hiding place. "Your parents are really worried about you."_

 _"No they're not," Shuya sniffled. "Daddy hates me."_

 _"No, he doesn't," Nobuchika corrected him. "He was just worried that your mother was injured."_

 _"She's not, is she?" He glanced up, concern clouding his brown eyes._

 _Ginoza shook his head softly, and smiled when the worry went from the boy's eyes. "He didn't mean to yell at you, I'm sure. He still loves you very much, Shuya."_

 _"But he loves the new baby and Mummy more." Shuya rubbed his eyes._

 _"No, he doesn't love the new baby any more than he loves you." Ginoza told him, and watched the brown eyes widen- oh hell, the boy thinks I'm the god of truth or something along those lines. "But you're right when you say he loves your mother more. I don't think there's anyone else he loves more in the world than Akane."_

 _"Why?" Shuya asked._

 _"Why? Hmm, interesting question." He pretended to ponder the child's question, and watched the prince stare at him with wonder in his eyes- he had made the wise Ginoza-Sensei THINK. "She was the light of his life, his reason for living at all. Wouldn't you love somebody like that?"_

 _"Will I ever love someone like that?"_

 _"I hope so. It's a wonderful feeling."_

 _"Have you ever felt like that before Uncle Gino?"_

 _"Me? Yes, but she can never be mine," he replied. "Come on you. You've worried your parents enough!"_

 _"Will they be angry?"_

 _"Of course not, silly. But you'll have to say sorry to your mother." The child nodded a little ashamedly. "Promise me you will."_

 _"I promise!" Shuya piped up and followed his godfather back to his parents, who were both sick with worry, as he had predicted. When his father saw him, Shuya was expecting him to shout again, but his father simply collapsed to his knees and clutched his son to his chest, stroking his hair and apologising._

 _Behind him, Akane gazed upon the two, and knew she had found true happiness at long last._


End file.
